Belgian police fire tear gas at education protesters in Brussels

Violence erupts at Brussels railway station

Tensions escalated around 12:30 pm (1030GMT) near Brussels-Midi railway station, where demonstrators erected barricades using construction fencing and threw projectiles at police, according to public broadcaster RTBF. Security forces responded with water cannon and tear gas before charging toward the crowd.

Around 100 students, teachers, and trade union activists had gathered near Brussels Central Station earlier in the morning for a demonstration that was initially unauthorized before receiving permission to march toward Brussels-Midi. Police deployed in large numbers to stop and search several participants as demonstrators chanted slogans against police repression and federal government policies.

Peaceful mobilization in Liege

In Liege, approximately 250 people, mostly young people, gathered outside Liege-Guillemins station before marching peacefully toward the city center, Belga news agency reported. Workers and parents joined the procession, with participants raising concerns about education funding, tuition fees, public transport costs, working conditions, and social inequality.

Students described financial pressures that force young people to combine work with their studies, which can lead some to abandon their education. The Brussels gathering followed clashes between police and students on the sidelines of an Oct. 9 trade union demonstration, while some participants expressed solidarity with Saturday’s mobilization in France against rising living costs.