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Written By : BarkatKhan
Chronicle Craze Wolrd News Desk.
Meta Description: In October 2026, Brussels exploded in tear gas and street clashes as tens of thousands marched against austerity. Meanwhile, student unrest in Liège intensifies with over 100 arrests. Here's what's driving Belgium's anger — and why it matters.A Game of Cat and Mouse: Tear Gas in the Heart of BrusselsOn a Friday morning in Brussels, the air carried more than just the chill of autumn.
By ten o'clock, thousands of protesters dressed in the red and green colors of Belgium's trade unions began marching from Brussels-Central station toward Brussels-South. Their message was blunt: "Hands off our wallets." The demonstration, organized by the socialist union ABVV, was aimed squarely at the federal government's austerity agenda — cuts to purchasing power, reforms to wage indexation, a rise in VAT, and the introduction of annualized working hours.
But the peaceful procession did not last.
By midday, tension gripped the area around Brussels-Central. Hundreds of young people — dressed in black, faces masked, some costumed as Batman and Spider-Man — began hurling stones, glass bottles, fireworks, and even garbage bins at police. Shared bicycles were set alight. Smoke billowed over Place de l'Albertine.
The police response was swift and heavy-handed: tear gas, water cannons, and baton charges. In a statement, Brussels police said the actions were "necessary to restore public order and ensure the safety of citizens, demonstrators, and emergency workers."
Union leaders were quick to distance themselves from the violence. ABVV president Bert Engelaar had warned before the march: "Those people have nothing to do with the message that tens of thousands are bringing to the streets." Police later confirmed that the rioters "had no connection to the anti-austerity rally."
But for Marie Gobert, a social worker who traveled from Namur to join the protest, the anger on the streets is not without cause. "I have a job, but I can't make ends meet," she told the Associated Press, standing with her daughter. "Tuition fees are up, bus and train tickets are up. I've never felt so anxious about every measure that makes daily life harder."
Her words point to a larger reality: Belgium's public debt and deficit have spiraled. The five-party center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever is attempting to cut €10 billion in spending before its term ends in 2029, in order to address a deficit exceeding 5% of GDP. De Wever himself has described the effort as "a challenge out of the ordinary."
But the unions have drawn a clear red line: ordinary people will not foot the bill again.
If the clashes in Brussels were an "episode" within the union protest, in Liège, a student-led movement has been building for an entire week.
Since early October, young people have gathered almost daily in this eastern French-speaking city. Their grievances are specific and deeply personal: rising higher education tuition, increased transit fares, overcrowded classrooms, and difficulty accessing course materials.
The numbers are sobering. Liège police reported on Wednesday that 107 people had been arrested, including 80 administrative detentions and 27 judicial arrests. According to RTBF, total arrests had climbed to 194 by October 7, including 114 minors, with 43 police officers injured.
On Tuesday alone, 53 people were arrested. Young people gathered in streets around the University of Liège, damaging property and setting fires.
Liège Mayor Willy Demeyer responded with a sweeping measure: a ban on gatherings of more than three people until October 16. Police were authorized to stop and search anyone carrying backpacks, masks, or hoods.
On Thursday morning, an authorized student march set off from the University of Liège toward Guillemins station. Organizers claimed 3,000 participants; police estimated around 400; RTBF reporters on the ground counted roughly a thousand. The march was largely peaceful, with students chanting "Education is a non-negotiable right" and "No justice anywhere, police everywhere." But skirmishes broke out as the procession passed through Liège's market area, leaving two people lightly injured by air guns.
Interior Minister Bernard Quintin pointed the finger at "anti-fascist-type movements," claiming they were "manipulating young people." The accusation was strongly rejected by the Liège Antifascist Front.
Notably, Belgium's student movement has drawn partial inspiration from unrest in neighboring France, where high school students have spent days blockading schools and protesting for better learning conditions. France's Interior Ministry counted at least 250,000 demonstrators nationwide on Tuesday, with more than 6,650 arrests.
"We face almost the same problems, so we support each other," Alfred, a 19-year-old student in Liège, told Reuters. Another 19-year-old said the Belgian student movement, which began earlier this year, had regained momentum because of the French protests.
But compared to France's hundreds of thousands on the streets, Belgium's student movement remains limited in scale, concentrated in Liège, with participation in the hundreds.
Back in June, the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation pushed through an education austerity package at 4 a.m.: a 10% increase in high school teachers' working hours without pay, cuts to sick leave rights, tighter end-of-career arrangements, and — most controversially — a tuition hike to €1,194 for 58% of higher education students starting next academic year.
Unions warned at the time that these austerity measures would "significantly reduce the resources devoted to supporting young people, worsen working conditions for staff and students, and throw the education system into chaos." They also noted that the government had bypassed parliamentary rules to rush the bill through — under standing orders, a bill should have at least 84 hours between approval by the budget committee and submission for plenary debate, but the majority convened the session on June 4 anyway.
"This sets a very serious precedent for our democracy," the unions wrote in a statement. "The majority is not just breaking the rules; it is undermining parliamentary democracy, turning Parliament into a rubber stamp."
Four months later, those measures — pushed through by force — are producing real-world consequences, and students' anger has erupted.
"If we don't fight now, if we don't question power now, things will only get worse," communication student Lola Timmermans told Agence France-Presse during the Brussels march.
Luc Toussaint, an education union official, put it more bluntly: "The education sector is deteriorating at an accelerating pace, and people have had enough. Like teachers, students can see that things are getting worse."
France is experiencing its largest wave of student protests in years, with more than 250 cities and towns affected. Italy, Greece, and other European countries face similar fiscal pressures and social tensions.
Belgium's own fiscal situation is particularly severe. A €3.3 billion budget gap means painful choices must be made, regardless of which party is in power. The De Wever government has chosen spending cuts over tax increases — a path that has triggered fierce union backlash.
ABVV has already warned that a national strike could be called in November if the government crosses the unions' "red lines."
Friday's demonstration showed the real-world impact of that threat. Around 140 flights were canceled at Brussels Airport, public transport was severely disrupted, garbage collection was suspended, and several recycling centers were closed.
In the Brussels march, union members and their supporters, dressed in bright red and green, moved peacefully through the city center. But when black-clad youths began throwing stones, that image was torn apart.
Police say the rioters had nothing to do with the march. Unions say the rioters had nothing to do with the march. But for ordinary Brussels residents standing near Brussels-Central, watching tear gas rise into the sky, that distinction may not matter.
What matters is that the anger in this city — whether from union members, students, or young people "belonging to no organization" — is becoming impossible to ignore.
As Marie Gobert put it: "You can feel the social tension, you can feel the anger brewing everywhere. The education system is being dismantled, and when young people want to speak, no one listens to them."
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