As in some previous gatherings, clashes with the police have enamelled this event, which people from other European countries have been involved.
Le Monde
Straights have opposed the police and people hostile to the restrictions related to the Pandemic of Covid-19, during a demonstration that brought down tens of thousands of people in Brussels on Sunday 23 January.
According to the authorities, about 50,000 people marched in the Belgian capital, some from other European countries. This is the largest in a series of events in the city in recent months.
The clashes erupted near the headquarters of the European Union, the police who used water guns and tear gas to repel protesters who launched cobblestones and firecrackers. According to RTL Radio , hidden protesters broke a window at the entrance of the EU’s foreign affairs headquarters.
Urgent – Isolated police officers targeted by projectiles are obliged to take refuge in the subway. Tensions. … https://t.co/drckyfh9o
Participants in this parade, plus garnished than previous processions, wore signs criticizing Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander de Croo, as well as the sanitary pass.
Events against the health certificate – Required to access restaurants and cultural events – take place regularly for several weeks in the Belgian capital. Some of the previous gatherings had already been marked by clashes with the police.
Protesters from several countries
The organizers, including the World Wide Demonstration for Freedom and European United for Freedom movements, had invited protesters from other European countries to participate Sunday. Dutch, Polish, French and Romanian flags were visible in the procession.
This event occurs while some governments are moving towards a reduction in sanitary restrictions, despite the persistence of the Omicron variant. The latter is now dominant in the European Union, announced the European health agency on Friday.
Belgium has been a leap of daily cases greater than 60,000 last week, the authorities evoking a “tsunami”. But the less deleterious effects of the Omicron variant and a high rate of vaccination have allowed the health system to be less under pressure than in previous waves. In this context, the Prime Minister announced Friday that restaurants and bars could lengthen their opening hours. The discos will remain, they closed.
In France, the government announced Thursday evening the lifting, in February, most of the restrictions taken to curb the epidemic: end of the wearing of the outdoor mask and teleworking mandatory, reopening discos and return of the concerts standing .