Belgian police arrest 195 as education protests in Brussels and Liège turn violent

Police in Belgium arrested 195 people on Saturday, October 17, during protests against education policy and budget cuts in Brussels and Liège, according to police figures released on Sunday and reported by Anadolu Agency and TRT World. Officers used tear gas and water cannon in both cities. Five police officers suffered minor injuries in Brussels, according to the police figures.

Brussels

Several hundred people, mostly young, gathered in central Brussels, many masked and chanting anti-fascist slogans, Reuters reported. A Reuters witness saw some protesters overturn a car. Police said demonstrators built barricades from electric scooters and building materials, and the unrest caused significant damage in the city centre, Anadolu reports.

Interior Minister Bernard Quintin wrote on X that what was happening in Brussels was "no longer mere protest" and that all necessary means would be used to restore order, according to Reuters.

Brussels police counted 150 arrests: 118 administrative detentions and 32 judicial arrests, 15 of them of minors, Anadolu reports. Police linked the judicial arrests to throwing objects at officers, resisting arrest and deliberate arson, and said the figures could change as suspects are identified.

Liège

In Liège, 200 to 250 people gathered peacefully outside Guillemins station at about 10 am and marched to Place Saint-Lambert, where a sit-in blocked buses, according to the Belga agency as cited by Anadolu. Protesters later blocked roads near Le Cadran, including access to the motorway, and moved barriers to build barricades. About 50 protesters fired pyrotechnic mortars at the Prince-Bishops' Palace, and police dispersed them with a water cannon and tear gas. Police said calm had returned by evening.

Liège police reported 45 arrests: 40 administrative and five judicial, with 12 minors among those held, according to Belga.

What the protests are about

The students' grievances concern the French-language education system, which Belgium's French-speaking community runs separately from Dutch-speaking Flanders. Belgian student groups say they oppose rising education costs and reforms they fear will make higher education less accessible, Reuters reported. Al Jazeera reported that students in Liège were protesting overcrowded classrooms and difficulty getting study materials, and that registration fees for students in French-speaking areas had risen from 835 euros to 1,194 euros. The Brussels Times describes the measures as reforms and budget cuts by the French Community government, which is trying to deal with serious financial difficulties.

According to Anadolu, the protests in French-speaking Belgium began on October 1, after student protests over school conditions started in France. Liège police reported 80 detentions and 27 formal arrests in earlier protests on October 6 and 7, Al Jazeera reported, citing Belga, and the Brussels Times reported 16 arrests in Liège on October 5.

A separate union protest

The student protests are distinct from union action against the federal government's budget. On October 9, Belgium's two largest unions, CSC-ACV and FGTB-ABVV, marched in Brussels; police estimated about 30,000 participants and FGTB-ABVV said 50,000, the Brussels Times reported. Police used tear gas and a water cannon on a group dressed in black at Central Station that day and made several arrests.