The key facts

  • Clashes near Brussels-Midi station around 12:30, police used water cannons and tear gas (RTBF)
  • About 100 people gathered at Brussels Central Station; the action was initially unsanctioned
  • In Liège, about 250 people, mostly young, marched peacefully to the city centre (Belga)

Clashes in Brussels

On Saturday in Brussels, police used water cannons and tear gas against demonstrators protesting against education reforms, austerity measures and police pressure. According to the public broadcaster RTBF, tensions rose around 12:30 (10:30 GMT) near the Brussels-Midi railway station, where participants built a barricade out of construction fences and threw objects at police officers. The police responded with water cannons and tear gas, then moved on the crowd.

Course of the action in Brussels

Earlier in the morning, about 100 students and adults, including teachers and trade union activists, gathered at Brussels Central Station. The demonstration was initially unsanctioned, but later the protesters received permission to march to Brussels-Midi. Police were deployed in large numbers, and several people were stopped and searched. Demonstrators chanted slogans against police pressure and the federal government's policies. The action followed confrontations between police and students that occurred on the sidelines of a trade union demonstration on 9 October.

Peaceful march in Liège

According to the Belga news agency, in Liège about 250 people, mostly young, gathered at Liège-Guillemins station and marched peacefully to the city centre. Workers and parents joined the march; participants raised issues of education funding, tuition fees, the cost of public transport, working conditions and social inequality. Students spoke about financial pressure forcing young people to combine work with studies, which may lead some to give up education. Some participants also expressed solidarity with Saturday's mobilisation in France against the rising cost of living.