Student protests spread from France to Belgium, tensions and unrest outside schools in Liège

The student protests that have taken place across France in recent days spread to Belgium on Thursday, with students gathering spontaneously outside several schools in the Liège region.

The demonstrations disrupted the start of classes at a number of schools, according to local media.

Tensions were reported in several places as the day went on, with police saying fireworks, eggs, apples and crowd-control barriers were thrown outside several schools.

A fire was set outside the Marie-Thérèse Institute in the Hors-Château neighbourhood, with scooters and crowd-control barriers reportedly thrown into the flames.

A glass door at Saint-Barthélemy College was also smashed with an iron bar. Police were deployed in large numbers around the affected schools.

The protests were reportedly initiated spontaneously by the students and were not organised by teachers or unions.

The students reportedly demanded smaller classes and adequate staffing, greater consideration of the views of students and parents, equal access to education and decisions that they say should “build the future, not destroy it”.

The movement in Belgium came as French high-school pupils have blocked entrances and staged protests outside their schools for several days, demanding better learning conditions.