Five people charged over clashes and vandalism during demonstration in Brussels
Five people have been charged in connection with clashes with the police and acts of vandalism that occurred on the margins of the union demonstration in Brussels on Tuesday.
Several dozen people were arrested during the protest after masked demonstrators threw projectiles, paint bombs and fireworks at a government building on Boulevard Pachéco around midday on Tuesday.
The Brussels public prosecutor's office opened several investigations and charged three individuals with criminal association, it announced on Wednesday. Two others were charged with resisting arrest and vandalising street furniture.
The initial findings of the investigation show that a specific group deliberately committed acts of violence during the demonstration, the prosecutor's office said.
According to the office, this group had a specific modus operandi that included wearing masks and mingling with demonstrators after carrying out their actions in order to remain anonymous.
Arson attack
The office is also investigating an arson attack that occurred at Place d'Yser shortly before the start of the demonstration. "All necessary means will be used to identify the other perpetrators and subsequently provide an appropriate criminal response," the office said.
"It's always the same in this country. The police should use the FN303 against these thugs, just as the LAPD does"
Defence minister Theo Francken posted on X that the police should have used rubber bullets against the "extreme left-wing antifa thugs" at Tuesday's demonstration.
"It's always the same in this country. The police should use the FN303 against these thugs, just as the LAPD does. FN Herstal manufactures them in Liège. Home-grown!" he wrote.
Last week, the Walloon arms manufacturer FN presented a new version of its "less lethal" weapon to the Los Angeles Police Department. This weapon is only used in exceptional situations in Belgium.
'Less lethal'
Human rights organisation Amnesty International has warned about the use of such "less lethal" weapons in the past. According to the organisation, they have led to dozens of deaths around the world and caused an alarming increase in eye injuries, sometimes resulting in complete loss of vision.
Other victims of this type of weapon have suffered bone and skull fractures, brain damage, internal injuries and haemorrhaging, or punctured hearts and lungs due to broken ribs, according to Amnesty International.
A confrontation with police on the margins of a union demonstration in Brussels, 14 October 2025 © BELGA PHOTO MARIUS BURGELMAN
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