Prince Laurent sends daughter to French school

Prince Laurent causes much controversy again in Belgium with his decision to send his 6-year old daughter Louise, who charmed the media this summer on the National Day, to a French state school.

This action causes negative comments in whole of Belgium. Not only is the Princess apparently raised without learning Dutch in school, she is now also sent to a French school, not even a Belgian one. According to the article, the Prince could no longer afford the school fee for the private school in Tervuren where the Princess used to go to school, which amounts to about €25.000 per year. The costs of sending her to the Lycée Français would come down to €500 per year.

Both sides of the language barrier think this is a bad move of the royal family. On the Flemish side, people wonder why the Prince would not send his daughter to a school which doesn’t teach her any Dutch, a language which is important in the Brussels job market, as the Princess will have to earn her living later on. In her school in Tervuren, the Princess was also educated in French and English, not in Dutch. On the Francophone side of the language barrier, people wonder why the Prince is sending her to a French school and not a Belgian one. “Aren’t Belgian schools good enough then?” one politician wonders aloud.

The decision is sure to make the Prince less popular in both parts of the country.

See here for an article in Dutch.
See here for a thread discussing Prince Laurent’s current events.

Filed under Belgium
Tagged Education, Prince Laurent of Belgium, Princess Louise of Belgium, Public Opinion.