Belgium Student Protests Escalate as Over 100 Detained in Liege Unrest

More than 100 people were taken into custody in the eastern Belgian city of Liege this week after demonstrations over the rising cost of education descended into violence, authorities said, in a wave of unrest that echoes growing student anger across neighbouring France.

According to the Belga news agency, which cited Liege police, 80 people were detained during the protests and 27 were formally arrested. The demonstrations, which took place on Tuesday and Wednesday, were organised by students protesting against overcrowded classrooms and the growing difficulty of accessing educational resources within Belgium's French-language education system.

Police reported that some participants damaged property and set fires during the unrest. Images from the scene showed demonstrators clashing with riot police, with at least one storefront window smashed as crowds surged through the city streets.

The protests reflect mounting frustration among students who say they have been left with little choice but to take direct action. Amelia Di Salve, a 19-year-old studying to become a teacher, explained that the decision to protest came after watching the situation fail to improve through other means. "When we saw nothing was changing without protests, we decided we would start," she said, adding that demonstrations in France had "influenced us a little."

Another 19-year-old student, identified only as Alfred, told the Reuters news agency that the cross-border solidarity was deliberate. "We support each other because we're facing pretty much the same issues," he said, underscoring the shared grievances driving young people onto the streets in both countries.

Authorities in Liege sought to calm tensions and prevent further escalation. Mayor Willy Demeyer told Belgian broadcaster RTBF that dialogue remained possible and expressed hope that young people could express their grievances in a peaceful manner and, if possible, have those concerns heard.

The unrest in Liege is not an isolated incident. Similar protests have gripped France, where a cost-of-living crisis and spiralling energy costs have placed enormous pressure on education budgets. In Belgium, sporadic violent demonstrations also erupted over the summer in Brussels, targeting an increase in tuition fees for students in French-speaking areas.

That fee increase saw costs rise from 835 euros (about $930) to 1,194 euros (about $1,340), a jump of more than 40 percent that has proved deeply controversial. The change has been particularly painful for students already grappling with the wider affordability crisis affecting households across Europe.

Belgium's education system is uniquely structured, with education managed independently by the country's linguistic communities rather than through a single national curriculum. The Flemish population regulates schooling in the Dutch-speaking Flanders region, while French-speaking Wallonia oversees its own curriculum. In the bilingual capital Brussels, parents can decide where to enrol their children, creating a complex patchwork of educational governance.

The protests in Liege have highlighted long-standing complaints about overcrowded classrooms and insufficient resources in the French-language system. Students argue that the combination of rising fees and declining support has made higher education increasingly inaccessible, particularly for those from lower-income backgrounds.

The timing of the demonstrations is significant. The unrest follows a year of peaceful union demonstrations by teachers, suggesting that frustration has been building for some time and that students are now adopting more confrontational tactics. Daily clashes between students and police have continued since the beginning of October, according to reports from the ground.

The involvement of high school students, not just university attendees, adds a new dimension to the protests. Many of the demonstrators are too young to vote but are directly affected by reforms to the education system that they say will shape their futures without their input.

The Belgian government has yet to offer a formal response to the protesters' demands, though local officials have emphasised the importance of dialogue. The mayor's appeal for peaceful expression reflects a desire to avoid the kind of prolonged disruption that has affected parts of France in recent months.

Observers note that the issues driving the protests are unlikely to disappear quickly. The cost-of-living crisis, driven in part by high energy prices, continues to strain public budgets across Europe. Education is often among the first areas to feel the squeeze, even as demand for skilled workers grows.

For the students in Liege, the demonstrations represent both a cry for help and a warning. They argue that without urgent investment in education, a generation risks being left behind. Whether their message is heard remains uncertain, but the scale of the unrest suggests that the pressure for change is only likely to intensify.

As night fell on Wednesday, the streets of Liege were quieter, but the underlying tensions remained unresolved. With protests continuing across the border in France and more demonstrations potentially planned in Belgium, the coming weeks will test the willingness of authorities to engage with a generation that has decided it can no longer wait.