{"id":7717,"date":"2026-10-09T16:23:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T16:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=7717"},"modified":"2026-10-09T16:23:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T16:23:02","slug":"thousands-rally-for-anti-austerity-protest-in-brussels-amid-clashes-protests-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=7717","title":{"rendered":"Thousands rally for anti-austerity protest in Brussels amid clashes | Protests News"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 27 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Belgian police respond to \u2018troublemakers\u2019 on sidelines of main rally with tear gas, water cannon and baton charges.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Published On 9 Oct 2026<\/span>9 Oct 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Clashes have erupted near Brussels Central station on the sidelines of a demonstration organised by the country\u2019s socialist trade union against the federal government\u2019s austerity plans.<\/p>\n

As thousands of protesters gathered at the station on Friday, a smaller group clashed with the police and threw wooden beams, glass bottles and rubbish bins, The Belgian Times reported.<\/p>\n

\n

Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n

Police were deployed in large numbers around the stations as officers checked groups of young people not wearing trade union colours.<\/p>\n

Police said the main trade union rally went ahead peacefully but \u201cgroups of troublemakers were responsible for serious incidents before and after the march.\u201d<\/p>\n

Riot police responded to those protesters with tear gas, water cannon and baton charges. Police said those who \u201ccause the problems of public order are not linked\u201d to the rally.<\/p>\n

Reporting from Brussels, Al Jazeera\u2019s Rosie Birchard said damage was caused during Friday morning\u2019s protests with an \u201cacrid smell of burning in the air\u201d, due to fires that were set and the tear gas.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolice [and] emergency services have been arriving, starting to disperse or clean up and then the protests flare up again. So the day is still early; often these things get worse in the evening in terms of the street violence,\u201d Birchard explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were some young people who came out, they say they were inspired by what they had seen in France<\/a> in terms of school protests, and they also wanted to talk about the education environment they\u2019re learning in,\u201d she said, adding that the students felt that they were \u201cnot being listened to\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"A
A protester gestures next to burning shared bikes during a labour union-based demonstration against the federal government\u2019s budgetary measures near the Brussels South railway station in Brussels [AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The clashes came after a week of tension in the city of Liege<\/a> after authorities banned gatherings as students clashed with police and vandalised shops. More than 200 people were arrested in Liege, and dozens of police were injured.<\/p>\n

The ABVV trade union and the Christian ACV, the country\u2019s two biggest unions, organised protests on Friday morning, with protesters marching from Brussels Central station to Brussels South Station under the slogan \u201cstay out of our pockets\u201d.<\/p>\n

Police said about 30,000 people attended the demonstrations, while ABVV had earlier estimated attendance at 50,000.<\/p>\n

The anger stems from the government\u2019s austerity measures, as officials consider a new budget that opposes potential measures that affect purchasing power, the wage indexation system and value-added tax (VAT), as well as plans to introduce annualised working time.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the ACV organised a separate protest involving hundreds of activists at the capital\u2019s headquarters of the governing coalition parties.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Belgian police respond to \u2018troublemakers\u2019 on sidelines of main rally with tear gas, water cannon and baton charges. Published On 9 Oct 20269 Oct 2026 Clashes have erupted near Brussels Central station on the sidelines of a demonstration organised by the country\u2019s socialist trade union against the federal government\u2019s austerity plans. As thousands of protesters…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t