Belgian police responded to disturbances on the sidelines of a demonstration organized by the country's socialist trade union against the federal government's austerity plans. Clashes occurred near Brussels Central station on Friday, where thousands of protesters gathered, while a smaller group engaged in confrontations with police, throwing wooden beams, glass bottles, and rubbish bins, according to The Belgian Times.
Police were deployed in large numbers around the stations, checking groups of young people not wearing trade union colors. Authorities stated that the main trade union rally proceeded peacefully, but "groups of troublemakers were responsible for serious incidents before and after the march." Riot police utilized tear gas, water cannon, and baton charges against those protesters, asserting that those causing public order issues were not affiliated with the rally.
Al Jazeera’s Rosie Birchard reported that damage occurred during the protests, with an "acrid smell of burning in the air" due to fires set and the use of tear gas. She noted that police and emergency services were arriving to disperse or clean up, but protests often intensified later in the day.
Some young protesters expressed that they were inspired by recent school protests in France and wanted to address issues within their educational environment, feeling that their concerns were not being acknowledged.
These clashes followed a week of tension in Liege, where authorities banned gatherings due to student protests that resulted in vandalism and clashes with police, leading to over 200 arrests and injuries among police officers.
The ABVV trade union and the Christian ACV, Belgium's two largest unions, organized protests on Friday morning, with demonstrators marching from Brussels Central station to Brussels South Station under the slogan "stay out of our pockets." Police estimated attendance at around 30,000, while the ABVV had previously estimated 50,000 participants.
The protests were fueled by anger over government austerity measures, as officials consider a new budget that may impact purchasing power, the wage indexation system, value-added tax (VAT), and plans for annualized working time. Concurrently, the ACV organized a separate protest involving hundreds of activists at the headquarters of the governing coalition parties in the capital.