Unified Belgium good for all: French minister

France’s Europe Minister Pierre Lellouche said Sunday he hoped Belgium’s election would not lead it to split along linguistic lines, since unity in France’s neighbour was in the interests of all.

“Has the point of no return been passed? I think not, I hope not,” Lellouche said on the radio station RCJ. “Everyone needs Belgium to be unified, even if the separate regions assert themselves.”

Separatist parties in Belgium’s richer, Dutch-speaking Flemish region were forecast to score strongly in Sunday’s legislative vote, raising the prospect that it could eventually split from the French-speaking Walloon region.

“I think the Belgians will stay Belgian,” Lellouche said, however, comparing them to the Quebec region which is French-speaking but has remained part of Canada.