Memories of the Franco-Belgian border: Battles, heritage and cooperation

This chapter seeks to answer the following question: does the region covering the Franco-Belgian border produce a common history or separate histories? This border is easy to cross physically and has been the site of intensive cross-border flows plus more than 5,000 partnerships since 2000. Beyond these exchanges, functional cooperation and the creation of Franco-Belgian cross-border institutions, what can be said about social representations of this area’s history? The following analysis of three battles and three UNESCO World Heritage listings located in the Franco-Belgian border region details the meanings these events and heritage have acquired in present-day collective memory and discusses whether a shared history is beginning to take shape or if histories distinct to each side of the border remain dominant. In doing so, this article considers the intersection between memories, heritage and (cross-)border cooperation.