A Thursday evening protest by the far-right Nationalist Students’ Association, NSV, in Leuven was marred by violence, with clashes between marchers and counter-protesters leading to injuries and multiple arrests by police.
The 'Remigration March' was repeatedly halted as counter-protesters attempted to block its route, while a group of NSV participants dressed in black actively sought confrontations with the left-leaning counter-demonstrators.
Some NSV marchers also threw fireworks at students who voiced their opposition to the protest as they watched from their windows.
Other participants in the march were seen urinating against buildings along the way.
Police estimated that some 500 marchers took partin the right-wing demonstration while there were around 600 counter-demonstrators.
Thursday's marchers included Vlaams Belang chairman Tom Van Grieken and right-wing activists from Italy and Switzerland, 'De Morgen' newspaper reported.
According to 'De Morgen,' the international participants viewed the demonstration as part of a broader struggle against “ethnic replacement,” a reference to the controversial population replacement theory circulating within far-right circles.
'De Morgen' also reported that some of the demonstrators chanted “Ausländer raus” and “Deutschland den Deutschen” (German for “foreigners out' and 'Germany for Germans') as they marched though the streets of the Flemish Brabant capital.
Leuven police initially confirmed that about ten counter-protesters had been arrested. 'De Morgen' later quoted Leuven police spokesperson Marc Vranckx as saying that some 20 counterdemonstrators had been held.
