Brussels – Student protests spread across several regions of Belgium

BRUSSELS, October 2 /ATSH – AA/ – Protests by pupils and students continued on Friday in the Liège region of Belgium, where hundreds of young people gathered at schools and at several locations across the province, while police made numerous arrests.

In Herstal, a municipality in the province of Liège, police made 18 administrative arrests after intervening against people whom mayor Frederic Daerden described as “threatening and violent individuals,” the broadcaster RTBF reported.

In Liège, several groups of protesters gathered in the city center, while police said that during the morning 500 to 600 demonstrators passed by several schools.

The authorities reported several incidents during the protests, including attempts to enter schools, overturned street furniture and objects thrown at school buildings.

According to police, several businesses were also damaged, while a number of scooters were set on fire.

Police said protesters threw stones at officers near a secondary school, as the officers were trying to disperse the demonstrators.

Police said that by noon in Liège three people had been arrested and one person had been placed in administrative detention.

The protests also spread to higher education institutions, where hundreds of students gathered in front of the Helmo Esas university of applied sciences.

The students said they were protesting against education reforms and measures affecting their daily lives, including rising public transport costs.

The latest demonstrations followed Thursday’s incidents, which led many secondary schools in Liège to close as a precaution.

The protest movement in Belgium unfolded at a time when secondary school pupils in France have for several days been blocking entrances and protesting in front of their schools, demanding better conditions for learning.