Thousands Rally Against Federal Budget Reductions and Francophone Education Policies.
On Friday, thousands of students and teachers joined the national demonstration held in Brussels to protest the budget cuts planned by the federal government and against the education policies of the francophone region.
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The gathering began at 10 a.m. in front of the Central Station, from where it set off toward the large national march called by the unions and located just a few meters away.
Within the framework of the national protests, students and teachers demanded that the 10-billion-euro budget adjustment being negotiated by Prime Minister Bart De Wever not be carried out.
On the banners, one could read “Invest in Our Future, Not in War” or “United youth against the Arizona measures”, as the Belgian federal government coalition is popularly known.
There were also demands directed at the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, responsible for education policies in these two francophone regions and which foresees a 10% increase in teachers’ teaching load without a salary increase and a budget cut affecting, among other benefits, free meals in schools.
The decree also raises tuition at Non-University Higher Education Centers (Minerval) from 835 to 1,194 euros for 58% of students, in order to reduce the large deficit the Federation carries.
🔴BELGIQUE 🇧🇪| #Bruxelles : Gaz lacrymogène, canon à eau et jets de projectiles : des affrontements avec la police et des départs de feus ont été signalés vendredi 9 Oct, lors des manifestations des étudiants et des syndicats 🇧🇪 à la gare du Midi et à la Gare Bruxelles-Centrale. pic.twitter.com/5CveBiiCim
— Nanana365 (@nanana365media) October 9, 2026
The text reads, “Brussels: Tear gas, water cannons, and thrown objects—clashes with police and fires were reported on Friday, October 9, during student and union protests at the Midi and Central stations.”
Besides calling for the withdrawal of the education reforms, the demonstrators demanded the resignation of the French Community President Elisabeth Degryse and Education Minister Valerie Glatigny.
Tomas, a young man with an Argentine father and a Belgian mother, who studies Political Science at the Free University of Brussels, said that young people will continue protesting until the federal government “changes its position” on austerity policy.
“I believe that students here in Belgium, as in France, experience these cuts in education as an injustice, because there are certain people who no longer have access to quality education, to higher studies, and that condemns them. They cannot improve socially. It is an injustice that we students experience,” he said.
Sanah, about to finish her studies, said that students are “fed up with young people always being attacked” and assured that they will not stop protesting until they achieve their goals.
“We are fed up with money being sought among those who don’t have it. We want to tax the rich and the ultra-rich and that is why we are on the streets today. They raise university fees, cut family allowances… and to that we say no. Go look for the money somewhere else!” she exclaimed.
🇧🇪 New footage from Brussels, where mass unrest is gripping the city
Masked protesters dressed in black are hurling rocks and other objects at police. Officers are responding with water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Belgians have gone on strike against government… pic.twitter.com/BJgajyPvdi
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 9, 2026
On Friday, the massive protest began peacefully in the capital city. Shortly before noon, however, police charged against hundreds of young people near the central station of Brussels, which generated immediate reactions.
Some of the participants threw cobblestones, glass bottles, firecrackers and fireworks, burned trash bins that generated thick smoke, and organized barricades with bicycles.
Police cleared the area in front of the Central Station and dispersed the demonstrators with water cannons and tear gas. Riots also occurred in the vicinity of the Midi Station, the main railway terminal in southern Brussels and the arrival point of the national demonstration.
The ongoing Belgian mobilizations follow in the wake of the protests in France, although in Belgium students have already been staging sporadic protests in francophone cities for several months.
Since Oct. 1, the protests by young Belgians intensified in Liege and led to the closure of educational centers and 194 arrests.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
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