government officials had to be made either in Dutch or in both languages. Correspondence with municipalities or persons would be in Dutch unless a person expressed a wish to be engaged in French, but in reality the law was hardly applied in daily life: Flemish citizens were still obliged to communicate with the administration in French, because most civil servants were monoglots who either spoke only French or refused to use the Dutch language. 1883: Third law on the use of languages Until 1883, education in secondary schools had been entirely in French. The third law on the use of languages was voted on in order to introduce bilingual education. 1898: Law on Equality In 1898, the Law on Equality was introduced. Dutch and French were now to be regarded as co-equal official languages but native French speakers in parliament, unwilling to learn or use Dutch, were either unable or unwilling to read the Dutch texts they were supposed to vote on. The reverse was not the case: Dutch speakers were obliged to learn French.) Nevertheless, under pressure from the general population, the law was passed, largely due to the extension of suffrage to every male citizen aged 25 and above which increased the number of Flemish voters, and the introduction of plural voting in 1893 which allowed some eligible voters to cast more than one vote. 1921: A bilingual nation or languages linked to a region Disagreement over the country's language policy continued. Some segments of French-speaking Wallonia were concerned that current practices could result in Belgium becoming a bilingual country, with French and Dutch being recognised as official languages everywhere. This led to a proposal to split the administration in Belgium to preserve the French-speaking nature of Wallonia and to avoid the possibility that French-speaking civil servants there might have to pass a Dutch language examination. This implied a choice: should Belgium become a bilingual country or a country with two language regions? This was expressed in two alternatives: Personality principle: All citizens have the freedom to address the authorities in whichever Belgian language they choose, regardless of their region of residence. Territoriality principle: The official language in a particular region follows restricted language boundaries, which means that all official dealings with the authorities will take place in the language of the region. In 1921, the principle of territoriality was chosen; it was confirmed by further legislation, with