Overview
- Protests turned violent in central Brussels on Thursday as students and teachers confronted police near Brussels‑Central Station and the French Community parliament, with officers deploying water cannon and tear gas to repel attempts to force entry into the chamber.
- Demonstrators smashed windows, set shared bikes and e‑scooters on fire, and lit flares and smoke devices that left streets strewn with debris and forced transport shutdowns and traffic diversions around the city centre.
- The contested Decret‑Programme 2 package would raise annual university fees from €835 to €1,194, require two extra unpaid classroom hours for some secondary teachers, revise tenure rules, and cut spending to free savings of roughly €300 million for reinvestment.
- Government ministers defended the measures as needed to address a projected €1.9 billion deficit in the French Community budget while political opponents and union leaders blamed the fast‑tracked process and the reforms for inflaming protests.
- Reporting on the parliamentary vote is provisional with some outlets saying parts of the bill failed to pass after extended debate; calmer solidarity actions were reported in Namur and Charleroi and the clash could prompt further strikes, higher education cost protests, and deeper political division.