French fries are Belgian fries!

Let's get back to stereotypes and focus this time on how Wallonia and Brussels see themselves and the rest of the world...

A lot of people have taken for granted the fact that Wallonia and Brussels largely speak French, so that they should simply become a region of France. Actually, France and Belgium have a separate history. Wallonia used to be a mosaic of small realms and principalties. Later on, as both Flanders and Wallonia were part of the Netherlands, they decided to separate from it because they had a different religion (they were catholic and the Netherlands was protestant). A whole lot of Romance and Germanic dialects were spoken in the two areas. At some period, the whole country was a part of France, which made French the language of educated people. It was adopted by rich educated families of both sides, although in Wallonia most people spoke their dialect (in general, a Walloon dialect, but there are also Picard and Lorrain dialects). Later, Walloon kids were educated in French and it was forbidden to speak a dialect at school. This happened in all parts of France as well, but in Belgium, French was really a foreign language at first!

Oufti, quéne biesse! /oohf-TEA kayn be-YES/ 

"Damn, what an idiot!" in Walloon

A relevant cultural difference is the national beverage. In France, wine is the national alcohol, while in Belgium, people largely drink beers. Many beers (Orval, Chimay, Stella-Artois...) are brewed in Wallonia and famous worldwide. Some of them are made by trappist monks!

In general, Belgian French-speakers appear as more genuine and heartwarming to French people. Also, they recognize a Belgian humour, which distinguishes from the French humour in that Belgians like to joke about themselves and their accents, while French people like to make fun of other people and make themselves appear smart in doing that. This Belgian humility is probably due to the small size of the country and the obligation to share it with another community, while France is a big country, internationally known, which only has one official language (some people in France believe Belgians speak a language called... Belgian!). As a consequence, Belgians consider the French to be more arrogant and nervous, and they can't stand their chauvinism.

There has always been contact between French and Belgian people, like when labours were invited to work in both places. Also, a lot of French students come to study in Wallonia (to become speech therapists or vets), because French universities allow less students to register and universities are better considered in Belgium than in France. Many jokes were invented by French people to make fun of these foreign people who spoke French in a different accent, but the relationship between them has always been peaceful. The "Belgian jokes" (as they are called by French people) are basically about Belgian people being stupid (they are exactly the same ones as anti-blonde jokes). Also, the common cliché is that Belgians eat fries every day, because it's their national dish. By the way, a common mistake of English language is to say "French fries". Many Belgians and French people consider fries as being a purely Belgian dish, although a small part of France (called the "North") also has fries as a local dish. This is why Belgians are often pictured as fat people as well. The jokes are usually pronounced in an exagerated Brussels accent. As a reaction, some anti-French jokes also circulate in Belgium, depicting French people as arrogant. Here are examples of both:

Anti-Belgian jokes
Why did Belgians stop hunting ducks? Because they didn't manage to throw their dogs high enough.
What does a Belgian do when the bathtub is too hot? He wears oven mittens.
How do you make a Belgian go mad? Put him in a circular room and tell him you put fries in the corner.

Anti-French jokes
What is a Belgian? A French who studied.
How do you kill a French? Aim way higher than his head to shoot his superiority complex. 
Why are most French highways not lighted at night? Because French people think they are brilliant.

Finally, some people in France and Belgium, including the RWF (a marginal policital party in Belgium), would like Wallonia to be a French region. Yet, most people from both sides don't feel the need for this change and like Belgium as it stands.

I encourage you to post all of your favourite jokes below!