Brussels police arrested about 20 people during the national strike on Tuesday. Clashes with police broke out in various areas around the union demonstration, including at Brussels-Central Station and the Marolles district.
Police counted a total of 80,000 people taking to the streets in Brussels on Tuesday, but unions estimate the number of protesters to be between 100,000 and 120,000.
Some protesters clashed with police throughout the day. At 7am, several small fires were started at Place de l'Yser and Boulevard de Dixmude. Police suspect the fire was deliberately started by one of the protesters to disrupt traffic.
Throughout the day, police also had to dismantle several barricades and roadblocks on Avenue de la Couronne and Avenue Charles-Quint "for safety reasons and to ensure the passage of emergency services and traffic."
A police officer in front of Brussels-Central station during the national strike. Credit: Belga/Marius Burgelman
Around noon, several masked participants clashed with riot police near the Pacheco building (where the Immigration Office is housed) in the city centre. The protesters threw projectiles, paint bombs, and firecrackers, among other things, at the building: 44 windows were shattered.
Riot police had to intervene and used tear gas. "Following vandalism to the facade of this building, our services proceeded to kettle and arrest the individuals involved," the police reported.
Upon arrival at Brussels-Midi station around 2pm, some of the protesters split off from the crowd to head to the headquarters of the French-speaking liberal party MR on Avenue Toison d'Or.
Police were already on site, causing the rioters to move toward the area surrounding Brussels-Central Station. There, the Hilton Hotel at the Carrefour de l'Europe was vandalised.
Protesters clash with riot police in Brussels on 14 October 2025. Credit: Belga/Marius Burgelman
Several groups then began a cat-and-mouse game with the police, who chased them through the Marolles district to Brussels-Midi station. The police intervened, using "special means," they said in a press release.
Around 4pm, Belga News Agency reported another confrontation between protesters and police officers at Brussels-Midi station, in the municipality of Anderlecht, during which water cannons were deployed.
Afterwards, calm returned to the capital, according to the Brussels Capital-Ixelles police zone. "We regret the incidents of vandalism in the context of the national strike."
