More than 1,000 protesters filled the streets of Liège on Wednesday, October 7, marking a violent escalation in ongoing student-led demonstrations across Belgium against education policies and rising transport costs. What began as student mobilization transformed into severe downtown riots, prompting authorities to shut down major transit hubs and issue emergency alerts.
The unrest centered around the Place de la République française and extended toward the Guillemins railway station. Protesters and rioters clashed with police forces, who deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds after individuals threw fireworks and cobblestones at storefronts and police lines. The targets of vandalism included the Fnac department store and buildings of the Province de Liège, while several shops were looted during the height of the evening tensions. Around 5:30 PM, rioters targeted the Fnac store, attempting to enter before security shutters held firm against the group. A student also intervened around 5:15 PM to stop young individuals from setting fire to the tram tracks.
Emergency Lockdown and Transit Closures in Downtown Liège
As the violence escalated on Wednesday afternoon, local authorities took drastic steps to secure the city center. Police ordered the evacuation and closure of the Liège-Guillemins railway station around 6:00 PM, while tram circulation was at a standstill in the hypercentre, as noted by RTL info. Concurrently, the municipal authorities utilized the BE-Alert system to broadcast emergency messages instructing local merchants and shopkeepers to close their storefronts. Police spokesperson Jadranka Lozina reported that rioters had ransacked stores and headed toward the Guillemins station after being pushed back by police forces. Authorities added that there was no plan to evacuate the nearby fair at that moment.
The confrontations left visible destruction across the urban core. Rioters targeted bus shelters, setting protections ablaze and public trash cans on fire, which required intervention from local firefighters operating under police protection. Additional property damage was reported near the Palais de Justice, where rioters smashed several windows this Tuesday evening. Police water cannons were deployed on the Place de la République française to extinguish fires and push back masked individuals.
Clashing Factions Within the Student Movement
Wednesday’s mobilization drew a contrast between peaceful student activists and destructive actors. While groups of demonstrators carried placards and chanted slogans against the policies of Education Minister Valérie Glatigny and increases in transport subscription fees, distinct groups of rioters engaged in looting and arson. Protesters interviewed in the city center distanced themselves from the property destruction.
“The rioters, I really don’t defend them. They undermine our cause,” a protester dressed as Darth Vader told reporters, emphasizing that the majority of young demonstrators were expressing anger over reduced school budgets, staff shortages, and the increase in the minerval. The Bourgmestre of Liège, Willy Demeyer, and the chef de corps de la police, Jean-Marc Demelenne, held morning talks with student delegates and school directors to address grievances and review police interventions from prior days, noting that authorities had logged 107 total arrests since the movement began on October 1, with administrative detainees subsequently released.
Unresolved Demands and Continuing Disruption
The demonstrations in Liège form part of a broader wave of student actions across Wallonia and Brussels, mirroring parallel protests by high school students in France. Protesters continue to demand emergency financial investments in school infrastructure, expanded hiring for teaching positions, and affordable public transport.
