French big brother is watching Belgium: how French newspapers covered Belgian political crises

Abstract Belgium and France, neighboring countries, share historical and linguistic ties, with approximately 40% of Belgium’s population speaking French. Yet, Belgian politics and tensions between its two main linguistic, French- and Dutch-speaking, communities often remain complex to French observers. This study investigates how French newspapers framed Belgian political crises within the context of Belgium’s political tensions. Drawing on the cultural proximity thesis, this article analyzes 252 articles from four French newspapers—Le Monde, Libération, Le Figaro, La Voix du Nord—covering two political crises. The first (2010–2011) resulted in a record 541 days without a government, while the second (2018–2020) led to nearly two years of deadlock. We examine causality and attribution patterns in media narratives to explore biases and representations of the crisis. Our findings show that French media highlight partisan conflicts and cultural divides as the root causes of these crises, often depicting Flemish parties, particularly the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA), as more confrontational. French-speaking figures are portrayed as stabilizers, reinforcing Francophone-favorable narratives. This research contributes to studies on foreign news coverage by applying Critical Frame Analysis to non-violent political crises, highlighting how cultural ties shape media framing beyond linguistic accessibility.