Belgian student protests turn violent in Brussels as tear gas and water cannon deployed

Several hundred mostly young people clashed with police in Brussels on Saturday as student-led demonstrations against rising education costs and reforms turned violent, in unrest partly inspired by protests in neighbouring France, Reuters reported.

Demonstrators gathered in central Brussels, many masked and chanting anti-fascist slogans. Police responded with tear gas and water cannon, while some protesters overturned a car, a Reuters witness said.

Interior Minister Bernard Quintin warned on X that “what is unfolding in Brussels is no longer mere protest” and that “all necessary means will be used to restore order in the face of the rioters”.

Tensions escalated at around 12.30pm near Brussels-Midi station, where demonstrators used construction fencing to erect a barricade and threw projectiles at police, public broadcaster RTBF reported. Earlier, around 100 students and adults, including teachers and trade-union activists, had gathered near Brussels Central Station; the march was initially unauthorised before protesters were permitted to walk to Brussels-Midi.

The gathering followed clashes between police and students on the sidelines of an Oct 9 trade union demonstration. In Liège, around 250 mostly young people marched peacefully from Liège-Guillemins station to the city centre, Belga reported, with workers and parents joining a protest over education funding, tuition fees, transport costs and working conditions.

Some participants expressed solidarity with Saturday’s mobilisation in France. The French unrest began last month over education funding and school conditions before broadening into a wider movement over inequality, public spending and living standards, Reuters said.