A fan of local history was the first to discover that Belgium suddenly became 2 meters 29 cm larger. The watershed stone that has been in the same place for more than 200 years has in fact been transported a little further in France, he writes BBC.

The background seemed to be a bored farmer of stone that stood in the way of his tractor.

The border between the two countries stretches 620 kilometers and was formally established by the Treaty of Kortrijk of 1820.

It made Belgium bigger and France smaller, it’s not a good idea, says Mayor David Laveau in the Belgian city of Erquilin to French TF1 channel. He adds that he himself was reasonably satisfied with a slightly larger space, but his French counterpart across the border did not fully agree.

However, the strange cleaning made the French and Belgians smile.

We should be able to avoid a new border war, says French mayor Aurélie Welonek in the neighboring town across the border to La Voix du Nord.

The local Belgian authorities plan to ask the farmer to return the stone to its previous location.

If the farmer refuses, the case goes to the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Franco-Belgian Boundary Commission must meet. The commission in question has not been active since 1930.

Additionally, he risks being sued if he does not follow the authorities’ orders, according to Mayor Laveau.