Brussels student protests escalate into clashes with police

Several hundred people — mostly young students — clashed with police in central Brussels on Saturday as demonstrations over rising education costs escalated into disorder. Authorities said officers used tear gas and water cannon to disperse parts of the crowd.

Organizers and student groups said the protests were aimed at recent policy changes and cost increases they fear will make higher education less accessible. Some demonstrators wore face masks and chanted anti‑fascist slogans as they gathered in the city centre.

Police response and government warning

Belgium's Interior Minister Bernard Quintin described the events in Brussels as more than a routine protest and warned that all necessary means would be used to restore order. He wrote on X: "What is happening in Brussels is no longer an ordinary protest! This is clear and unequivocal violence, organised and repeated with the aim of destabilising our society. The Federal Police are supporting the local police. All necessary means will be used to restore order."

Similar student demonstrations have taken place elsewhere in the country, including in the eastern city of Liège, where students had raised concerns about conditions in the education system and higher costs earlier this month.

The Brussels unrest is linked in part to waves of protests in neighbouring France, where last month demonstrations that began in high schools in some deprived Paris suburbs over teacher shortages and dilapidated school facilities broadened into a national movement against inequality and cuts to public funding.

Earlier in the month Brussels also saw several other demonstrations, including large unions rallies that drew tens of thousands of people protesting planned government economic reforms.

Photo: EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET (Arhiva)