Brussels: Brussels commuters, heading to work the morning after Belgium’s painful World Cup loss to France, had to endure the French football anthem piped through the city’s metro on Wednesday.
The reason: not only did the national team lose 1-0 in Tuesday’s semi-final but also the Brussels public transport authority lost a bet with its Parisian counterpart.
Before the match, the two groups challenged each other on social media. If Belgium won, Paris would change signs at its Saint-Lazare station to ‘Saint Hazard’ in honour of Belgian whirlwind midfielder Eden Hazard.
But after the “Golden Generation’s” defeat in St Petersburg, Brussels instead had to “treat” travellers to the anthem ‘Tous Ensemble’ — All together — by late French rocker Johnny Hallyday at 8am and 10am.
At least Hallyday’s father was a Belgian. The country honoured the singer’s heritage when he died last year, playing his greatest hits on trains and over loudspeakers on the Grand Place in central Brussels.
