More than 50 tonnes of waste had to be cleaned up after Thursday's farmers' protest in Brussels, which saw almost 1000 tractors gather in the streets of the capital.
Teams from the regional cleaning agency Bruxelles-Propreté worked until 23:00 to clear the rubbish, a spokesperson said.
Faced with the scale of the mess, the agency put in place special measures and monitored events from the regional crisis centre.
The first clean-up operations began on Thursday and continued as protesters gradually dispersed.
Operations focused on the routes taken by the tractors that converged on Place du Luxembourg, in particular the Petite Ceinture, Avenue de la Couronne and Avenue Paul Hymans.
Aftermath of the farmers protest on 18 December 2025 in Brussels. Credit: Belga/NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP
The teams were faced with burnt bins and tyres and large quantities of potatoes, beetroot and wet straw on the road, making some roads particularly slippery.
The protest coincided with the first day of a two-day EU summit in Brussels.
Farmers gathered in the capital to protest against the EU's agriculture policy, and in particular the proposed free trade agreement with the South American Mercosur bloc, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. European farmers fear unfair competition if the agreement is signed.
A fire at the Place du Luxembourg during a farmers' protest to denounce the reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and a trade agreement, in Brussels, on Thursday 18 December 2025. Credit: Belga/Emile Windal
Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had been due to travel to Brazil this weekend to sign the deal, which has been some 25 years in the making and would be the EU's largest in terms of tariff cuts. However, EU leaders agreed on Thursday to postpone signing until January.
Both France and Italy had requested a postponement. Following the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron said it was too early to say whether his country would be able to approve the agreement in January.
