Brussels clashes between masked youths and police as anti-austerity rally draws tens of thousands

Clashes near the central station

Police and masked protesters clashed in central Brussels on Friday while unions marched against the federal government's austerity plans. Dozens of protesters, many of them young and dressed in black, threw rocks and firecrackers at police at the railway station, and set several fires, one of them to a pile of city bikes and electric scooters. Riot police answered with tear gas, water cannons and baton charges, and traffic and public transport across the city were disrupted. Later the fighting moved toward the Gare du Midi, where the crowd tried an unauthorised route toward Saint-Gilles and several hundred protesters threw stones and objects at officers in Avenue Fonsny.

Protesters, police and unions

Police put the rally at around 30,000 people, Tgcom24 reported about 50,000, and 7sur7 headlined a range of 30,000 to 50,000. Police said tension had built near the station from around 10:30, when several hundred young people joined the protesters, and an AFP team at the scene saw groups of hundreds clash repeatedly with police while tear gas filled the air. Union leaders said the rioters had nothing to do with their march, which AP reported passed off peacefully with members dressed in red or green. Marie Gobert, a single mother and social worker who came from Namur with one of her daughters, told AP that school costs had risen along with public transport and train tickets. She said:

I work, but I cannot make ends meet.

Gobert also said that the education system was being dismantled and that young people who want to speak out are not listened to. She added:

You can feel the social tension, you can feel anger starting to simmer everywhere.

Budget talks and union demands

AP reported that the Belgian government is struggling to finalise its budget for next year, and that the country is mired in public debt, like neighbouring France and Italy. Prime Minister Bart De Wever is seeking to save 10 billion euros in the coming years, and coalition negotiations on the cuts are set to run until 13 October. The unions want higher taxes on the highest incomes rather than cuts in areas such as health or a VAT increase, and they have proposed budget alternatives worth 21 billion euros. On Friday morning a large CSC delegation was received for about an hour by Les Engagés president Yvan Verougstraete at the party headquarters. Verougstraete described the talks as sincere and calm, and he defended widening the tax base to reduce labour costs, particularly for low wages. He made no firm commitments, and he said:

I obviously did not promise them the moon and the stars.

Liège and what comes next

Liège has been the centre of several days of protests that turned violent, and the city placed a ban on public gatherings. AP reported more than 200 arrests there and dozens of injured police, while JN put the number of arrests at around 200. Secondary school students in the French-speaking community have been protesting cuts to the education budget, a movement partly inspired by protests in France. Union representative Luc Toussaint said the situation is worsening at an accelerating pace and that people are already fed up. Rail staff are due to strike for 24 hours on Monday, with fewer trains running from 22:00 on Sunday, and flights from Brussels Airport have been cancelled.