How could a Belgian farmer accidentally move the border with France? It's surprisingly easy, as history shows

By Alison Carrol, Senior Lecturer in European History, Brunel University London

A farmer recently raised the potential for an international incident when he inadvertently redrew the border between Belgium and France. He was reportedly annoyed at a piece of rock that blocked the path of his tractor, and so he moved it. But this rock turned out to be a border stone which had been in place since 1819. By throwing it out of the path of his tractor, he redrew the Franco-Belgian border by 2.29 metres (7.5ft), making Belgium larger and France smaller.

The incident was, fortunately, met with…

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