Liège student protests: authorities urge people to avoid the centre

Student protests have begun in Liège in eastern Belgium: hundreds of angry students are on the streets, and authorities are advising residents not to enter the city centre. Reuters reports that Belgian students were partly inspired by their French counterparts, who have been protesting en masse for several days over the state of schools and education.

According to Belgian media, police have detained 107 people in recent days, mainly for vandalism and arson, the Belga agency reported.

What the authorities say

“Major disturbances are under way. Close your shops,” announced BE-Alert, the Belgian government’s official alert system. The main railway station was also closed but later reopened, Reuters reports. “Because of the ongoing demonstrations, avoid the city centre. Traffic here is severely disrupted,” Liège police wrote on social media.

The students are protesting against the state of French-language education, pointing to rising study costs, overcrowded classes and difficult access to learning materials. The current protests follow clashes between demonstrators and police in Brussels in June over an education reform that raises tuition fees for most students in French-speaking regions from 835 to 1,194 euros.

Video from Liège shows hundreds of mostly young demonstrators, bonfires and police barriers. During Wednesday’s protests, police searched students for weapons, Reuters writes. Some students told the agency that they feel connected with French students and that people in Belgium and France are worried about the same problems.

The scale of the protests in France

The protests in France have grown into mass actions. France’s Ministry of Education said the situation is gradually calming down: on Wednesday 276 schools were completely shut and another 183 partially. In many places in recent days demonstrations turned violent, and police detained more than 6,600 people. Since the protest movement began in mid-September, 215 students, 89 education workers and nearly 800 police officers have been injured.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz