Police use water cannon as youth protests turn violent in Brussels
Police used water cannon and tear gas in Brussels on Saturday after spontaneous youth protests escalated into clashes, with some demonstrators breaking through a police line.
Review information is loading.
Police in Brussels used water cannon and tear gas after spontaneous youth protests turned into clashes on Saturday, with some demonstrators breaking through a police line as they marched towards the headquarters of French-speaking party MR, Belgian news agency Belga reported.
No demonstration had been officially announced in the city. Young people gathered in the centre and began marching towards the party’s offices, where riot police blocked their route. Belga reported that some got past the police line; the available account gives no figures for arrests or injuries.
The unrest comes after weeks of protests and riots in France spread to several Belgian cities, including Brussels and Liège. Belgian authorities had feared further disorder after large demonstrations were announced in neighbouring France for Saturday. VRT reported that some shopkeepers in Brussels boarded up their windows as a precaution.
A previous report on clashes in Brussels and Paris described police using tear gas and water cannon during protests earlier this month.
Sign in to give this article a thumbs up or down.
About this discussion and AI questions
Private test discussion. Comments are readers’ views and are not yet automatically fact-checked. Editing is available for 60 seconds after posting.
Sign in with a confirmed reader account and choose a username to read comments and participate.
Sorting applies to top-level comments; replies remain oldest first. New comments and likes can change the order. Refresh for the current ranking.
Loading comments…