Tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators filled the streets of Brussels on Thursday during a nationwide strike to protest proposed cuts to public services, halting air traffic and causing other travel delays.
Brussels Airport said there would be no departing or arriving flights because of the strike, which included air traffic controllers, external security service workers and baggage handlers. More than 400 flights and 60,000 passengers were affected, the airport said, warning that it was likely to be very busy on Friday as travelers rebooked later flights.
The Brussels police said that about 60,000 protesters took to the streets on Thursday. The strike also disrupted public transit.
During the protest, a small group of people threw items, including plastic traffic barriers and metal bolts, at police officers. The authorities used tear gas to push back the protesters, and several people were arrested, the police said in a statement.
“We deplore these acts of violence, which have no place in a peaceful demonstration and constitute a serious threat to public order,” the local police said in a statement.
Belgium reached an agreement last month to form a coalition government, ending seven months of complicated negotiations over unpopular proposed cuts to social spending. The new prime minister, Bart De Wever, the leader of a conservative Flemish nationalist party who was sworn in this month, leads a broad five-party coalition and has pledged to stabilize the country’s finances. He has also said he will implement stricter policies on migration.
Like other countries in Europe, Belgium faces an aging population and rising costs of pensions, and new European Union fiscal rules have raised the pressure to rein in the budget deficit. Last month, the retirement age increased to 66 from 65. By 2030, the retirement age is set to increase to 67 for those born in 1960 or later, though there would be some exceptions.
In France, a decision to raise the retirement age has led to huge protests. Last month, Prime Minister François Bayrou said he was open to changing the unpopular measure, which raised the retirement age there to 64 from 62.
Chris Huybrechts, the president of VSOA Defense, a Belgian union representing workers in the defense industry, said people were frustrated with the government’s approach. “The government wont listen to the people,” he said. “The working class has to pay more to get less.”
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