For the past 1.5 years, the municipal council meeting in Schaerbeek has been interrupted by rowdy residents. The situation escalated on Wednesday evening when a member of the audience verbally abused the commune's Mayor.
The Schaerbeek authorities reported in March last year that, for several months, the municipal council meeting had been aggressively disrupted on several occasions, preventing the City Council from holding effective meetings. These meetings are public, and the Councillors and Mayor have repeatedly expressed that they want it to remain this way as it is an "essential democratic principle".
The law states that the public that is admitted to the Chamber is not allowed to speak or voice their opinions about the matters discussed, but this is no longer the case in Schaerbeek. "For 1.5 years now, several citizens have intervened," Baptiste Buidin, adviser to Mayor Cécile Jodogne, told The Brussels Times. "These people are very angry and agitated, they shout to stop the debate, and this situation has become normal now; it is now our reality."
The situation worsened on Wednesday, however, when the verbal attacks from members of the audience were for the first time directed at the Mayor, rather than at other members of the public. Jodogne was called a sale pute ("dirty whore") by a Schaerbeek resident. She has since filed a complaint regarding the insults.
Se faire traiter de "sale pute" en plein conseil communal, c'est donc la démocratie en 2024 ? Ramenons le respect, des débats constructifs et sereins dans nos enceintes démocratiques, pas la violence. Les insultes et les injures disqualifient tous les discours et leurs auteurs.
— Cécile Jodogne (@CecileJodogne) April 24, 2024
Translation: "So being called a 'dirty whore' in the middle of a town council meeting is democracy in 2024? Let's bring back respect and constructive, calm debate to our democratic forums, not violence. Insults and name-calling discredit all speeches and speakers."
The chair of the meeting can, after prior warning, have any person removed from the Chamber who openly expresses approval or disapproval or who causes disorder. However, Buidin stressed that dealing with this tumult is complex.
"We don't want to completely close off the debate to the public, because this would also punish the many people who do attend the meeting without shouting. But distinguishing the angry people from the people who remain calm is not easy either." The Mayor of Anderlecht has previously made the decision to keep the public out of the debates.
Political walk-out
Tensions at the meeting escalated further when the opposition led by the Socialist Party (PS) walked out of the meeting during talks about the commune's budget.
"Last month, we presented a project budget for 2024 to 2026 to bring the municipality back into balance financially. Now we are in deficit, but we are obliged to fix this situation to benefit from the €12 million in regional aid," Buidin explained.
The matter was discussed both in March and earlier this month and the opposition through the Common Council agreed with the proposal. But on Wednesday, PS reportedly reneged on its position and withdrew from the meeting. The council was forced to close before the agenda even began.
In March, the opposition parties reportedly asked to put forward some amendments during the meeting scheduled for Wednesday 24 April, but no modifications were proposed. "Meanwhile, the budget has not been approved which poses a major problem for the municipality to the detriment of Schaerbeek citizens," Buidin concluded.
