(Brussels) Clashes between the police and opponents of health restrictions to fight against COVID-19 in Brussels on Sunday, during a demonstration which brought together tens of thousands of people.
Posted at 2:48 p.m.
According to the authorities, around 50,000 people marched in the Belgian capital, some from other European countries. This is the largest protest in the city in recent months.
The clashes erupted near the headquarters of the European Union. Police used water cannons and tear gas to repel protesters who were throwing cobblestones and firecrackers.
A little later, police officers, bombarded with metal barriers, took refuge in a metro station.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has condemned the “senseless destruction and violence” after masked assailants smashed a glass door at the EU’s foreign affairs headquarters.
Police said around 70 people were arrested, including a dozen for offenses such as throwing projectiles and damaging property.
PHOTO GEERT VANDEN WIJNGAERT, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Three officers and 12 protesters were hospitalized, but none whose life would be in danger.
“Freedom of expression is one of the foundations of our society. Everyone is free to express their opinion,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said in a statement.
“But our society will never accept indiscriminate violence, let alone towards our police forces. Those involved this Sunday will be prosecuted”, he added, while the mayor of Brussels, Philippe Close, deplored in a tweet a “difficult day” and “the physical attacks of which the police were the victim”.
Demonstrations against the health certificate – required to access restaurants and cultural events in particular – have been taking place regularly for several weeks in the Belgian capital. Some of the previous rallies had already been marked by clashes with the police.
PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Organizers, including the World Wide Demonstration for Freedom and Europeans United for Freedom movements, had invited protesters from other European countries to participate on Sunday. Dutch, Polish, French and Romanian flags were visible in the procession.
“What has happened since 2020 has made people wake up,” said Francesca Fanara, from Lille, in northern France. Criticizing “a health dictatorship”, Adolfo Barbosa, who arrived from Portugal, declared that “it warms the heart to see these people here”.
This demonstration comes as some governments are moving towards lifting certain health restrictions, despite the persistence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 which is causing a record number of contaminations.
Omicron is now dominant in the European Union and the European Economic Area, the European health agency announced on Friday.
Last week, more than 60,000 people were infected every day in Belgium, a wave that the authorities described as a “tsunami”. But the less deleterious effects of the Omicron variant and a high rate of vaccination have allowed the health system to be less under pressure than during previous waves.
In this context, the Prime Minister announced on Friday that restaurants and bars could extend their opening hours – nightclubs will remain closed.
In neighboring France, the government announced Thursday evening the lifting, in February, of most of the restrictions taken to curb the epidemic.