The Mars Attacks! collective, which brings together teachers campaigning against the recent austerity measures adopted by the Government of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, decided on Tuesday evening to step up its protest actions.
Gathering for a general meeting in Liège on Tuesday evening, the approximately 150 participants agreed to keep up the pressure on the government through “original and offbeat actions designed to make a lasting impression”, said Mathieu Hovine, one of the collective’s members.
The “Martians” will also take part in the demonstration organised by the teachers’ unions on 10 September in Liège.
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Alongside these actions targeting the government, the collective also intends to put pressure on the members of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. The assembly is set to resume its parliamentary work in the coming days following several weeks of the summer recess.
Mars Attacks! is also planning several “high-impact” actions – as yet kept secret – for 27 September, the traditional day of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation’s celebration.
Having started from the grassroots last March with barely a dozen schools, this autonomous collective has, in just a few months, become one of the driving forces behind the protests against the government’s measures.
It now claims to have the support of nearly 400 schools across Wallonia and Brussels. With a strong presence both on the ground and on social media, Mars Attacks! aims to play a “complementary role” to the work carried out by traditional trade unions, notably by raising public awareness of the consequences of the measures adopted by the MR-Engagés government.
Mars Attacks! has also led to the creation of two other parallel collectives: Parents Attacks! and Students Attacks!.
