BELGIUM – More than 100 arrested during student protests over education costs

BRUSSELS, October 7 /ATSH-AFP/ – Belgian police have detained more than 100 people during student protests in the city of Liège, where demonstrations against rising education costs escalated into clashes and incidents of violence.

The protests took place yesterday and today and are linked to overcrowded classrooms, a lack of resources and rising university fees in the education system of Belgium’s French-speaking community.

According to the Belgian agency Belga, 80 people were detained by police, while another 27 were formally arrested.

Police said some protesters damaged property and lit fires.

One of the protesters, 19-year-old Amelia Di Salve, who is studying to become a teacher, said the students decided to protest after concluding that nothing was changing without protests.

She added that the protests in France had to some extent influenced their mobilisation.

Another student, 19-year-old Alfred, said Belgian and French students face similar problems in education and are supporting each other.

Why are they protesting?

Education in Belgium is administered by the linguistic communities and not by a single national system.

Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part, administers its own education system, while Wallonia, the French-speaking part, has its own system.

In French-speaking areas, university fees have risen from 835 euros to 1,194 euros, an increase of around 43%.

The protests in Liège follow similar demonstrations in Brussels over the summer and come at a time when Belgian education faces financial pressure because of the cost-of-living crisis and rising energy prices.

The mayor of Liège, Willy Demeyer, called on the authorities and the students to return to dialogue, expressing the hope that young people will voice their demands peacefully.