Cyclists ride past a sign indicating the direction to follow during the 'Gordelroute'
© AFP/BELGA Eric Vidal

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Police had no reports of serious incidents, despite the fears of organisers and local authorities that some might break out between small groups of Flemish and French-speaking nationalists.

"The Francophones still want to stretch out into the Flemish side," said Joris Van Hauthem, from the far-right Vlaams Belang party, at a rally with about 400 supporters in Wezembeek-Oppem, on the outskirts of Brussels.

"It's out of the question. This territory belongs to us."

The most common Gordel problem, the Flemish sporting organisation BLOSO said, comes from punctured tyres from nails and pins strewn on the 100 kilometres (60 miles) of cycling and walking tracks through the suburbs.

Signs with directions for the 28th edition of the Gordel -- which translates as "belt" and suggests a loop around Brussels -- were also removed or swapped overnight to confuse participants.

Organisers had expected 70,000-80,000 people to turn out, but the steady rain was thought to have discouraged many from taking part.

The event takes place with Belgium deep in crisis over how to devolve power from the central government down to the regions, and with negotiations set to resume on a way to end an impasse that has lasted since last year's elections.

Flanders, Belgium's prosperous Dutch-speaking region accounting for about 60 percent of the 10.5 million population, has stepped up its efforts to seek more powers to reflect its prosperity since the June 10, 2007 elections.

It resents subsidising the less affluent French-speaking Wallonia region to its south. Belgium also has a small German-speaking minority.

Brussels, where around one million people live, is officially a separate bilingual region but lies in the heart of Flanders, where Dutch is the sole official language. The official flag of Flanders is a black lion.

Flemish-run communities on the outskirts of Brussels have long sought to dissuade French-speakers from moving in -- largely by demanding that they speak Dutch, but also by toughly enforcing rules on public housing.

For their part, three communities outside Brussels with a francophone majority mobilised extra police Sunday to stop banners being set up around the event by persons deemed to be "extremists or racists".

For the first time a counter-rally -- dubbed the "Bretelle" (braces) -- was held by French-speakers away from the Gordel and it attracted around 200 people.

"The capital of Europe can't be built with walls around it. There has to be a bridge between Brussels and its outlying communities," said one of the organisers, Yvan de Beauffort.

Belgium's political tensions came to a new head in mid-July, when Prime Minister Yves Leterme -- unable to resolve the power sharing impasse -- handed in his resignation, but King Albert II refused to accept it.

In a new effort to end the stalemate, the king appointed the trio of senior politicians who are set to report back with their recommendations at the end of this month.

At the Vlaams Belang rally, a participant named Erik, who had come along with his family, said: "Belgium doesn't make sense anymore. It's better to get a divorce when things don't work out."

©AFP