The outgoing European Commission chief claimed that French speakers are facing growing levels of discrimination in the Flemish coast. In a bizarre rant, the top EU official said he was forced to speak German instead while visiting Belgium’s North Sea beach resorts. He said: “Thirty years ago, I was at the baker’s, the butcher’s, I could place my orders in French; today we no longer accept it. So I speak German – they accept Germans.”
“Belgium is no longer a model for successful cohabitation and that makes me sad,” Mr Juncker added.
The outgoing eurocrat, who is expected to step down at the end of October, is now facing an angry backlash, with demands for an official apology.
Bart Tommelein, the mayor of Ostend, branded his remarks “strange”.
“Everyone is welcome here, no matter what language they are trying to speak,” he wrote on Twitter.
Jean-Marie Dedecker, the mayor of Middelkerke, a small beach town west of Ostend, lashed out at Mr Juncker’s “insulting” comments.
He said: “I think Juncker was drunk when he came here and ordered his steak. He was probably unintelligible to the shopkeeper.
“I think that’s a big insult, he’ll apologise.”
The small-town mayor warned Mr Juncker that he would soon “receive a letter in his mailbox”.
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“Wallonia is not a national concept in itself, but Flanders thinks of itself and behaves like a nation.
“It’s incredible to see these two entities, who are actually very different, living together without actually living together.
“But I am proud of Belgium for Belgium. It is a beautiful country, with talent, resourceful people.”
In his wide-ranging farewell interview, Mr Juncker also took aim at Britons for being “part-time” Europeans.
“The British from the very beginning were part-time Europeans, what we need is full-time Europeans,” he said.
“It is a tragedy and it is a failure, but I have to say I don’t think it is mine because I didn’t decide to have this referendum.”