Hundreds of young people gathered this Saturday morning at Brussels Central Station to the rhythm of anti-fascist slogans and other slogans rejecting the police, who have deployed a strong presence in the surroundings, local media reported.

The young people, among whom there are also teachers and trade unionists, according to the Belga news agency, began a march peacefully towards Brussels South station in the middle of the morning and followed by a large police deployment.

This noon, after several blockades by the police that prevented the demonstrators from continuing the march, the situation became “chaotic”, the media pointed out. The police deployed water cannons and tear gas, while the protesters used construction fences to protect themselves and continue advancing.

As a result of the disturbances, several accesses to Brussels South station remain temporarily closed.

At Liege station, east of Brussels, another group of young people demonstrated who, according to Belgian media, expressed their concern about cuts in education, as well as working conditions, public services and social inequality.

This Friday, several calls for protests in the Belgian capital were reported through social networks, including French-speaking students and other movements linked to the ‘yellow vests’ in France.

For his part, the mayor of Brussels, the socialist Philippe Close, declared that none of the demonstrations expected for this Saturday had official authorization.

These protests are in addition to the day of demonstrations by various groups organized today in France, where the Ministry of the Interior has counted “some 500 actions” and “more than 90 demonstrations” throughout the country.

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