French-Belgian border moved? Will there be a war now between the two nations?

 Oh..dear who moved the French-Belgian border?

Borders are drawn politically and no one is allowed to touch or change them in any way. It is punishable by law and could lead to disputes. Know what happened when French-Belgian borders was moved? Did it lead to clashes? Who was the culprit? Was he caught and punished?

The French-Belgian  border is moved making France smaller

French-Belgian border moved (Source: CNET)

There was a local history enthusiast who was taking a walk in the forest adjoining France and Belgium. And to his shock and horror, he found that the stone that marked the boundary between the two nations was moved by 7.5 feet or 2.29 m inwards towards France. 

The border between the two nations extends over 620 km or 320 miles. The Treaty of Kortrijik was signed in 1820 and delineated the border of the two nations. Five years prior to this, Napolean Bonaparte was defeated in the Battle of Waterloo. The year on the stone marking the border is 1819. This is the year the border marking was done prior to the treaty signing. And now this was moved. 

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Who was the culprit of this border shift?

French-Belgian border stone (Source: BBC)

After investigation, it came to light that a Belgian farmer has inadvertently moved the stone marking the border. He shifted it into the French territory because it was coming in the way of his tractor when he was ploughing his field. He did not like it and pushed it out of his way. 

What was the reaction of the two countries?

Did France and Belgium war with each other on this issue like India does with Pakistan or Nepal. Actually not. In fact, this act was received with smiles on both sides. David Lavaux, mayor of the Belgian village of Erquelinnes told Channel TF1 of France:

"He made Belgium bigger and France smaller, it's not a good idea," 

He continued:

"I was happy, my town was bigger," 

"But the mayor of Bousignies-sur-Roc didn't agree."

The mayor of the neighbouring French village, Aurélie Welonek was also amused. He spoke to La Voix du Nord:

"We should be able to avoid a new border war,"

What is the punishment and solution?

Both sides were plainly amused by this innocuous but grave act of the Belgian farmer. The local Belgian officials said that they would contact the said farmer and ask him to return the marking stone to its original position and location. He has to comply but if he does not then the matter would be escalated and the Belgian foreign Ministry would be involved. The Franco-Belgian border commission would have to be summoned. It last met in 1930 and after that has been dormant. David Lavaux added that if the Belgian farmer refuses to put the stone back in its original place, he could face criminal charges. David said:

"If he shows good will, he won't have a problem, we will settle this issue amicably,"