Belgian police arrest 107 during student protests in Liege

Police in the Belgian city of Liege have arrested 107 people during student protests since early October, local authorities said Wednesday.

The arrests included 80 administrative arrests and 27 judicial arrests, police said, as cited by the Belga news agency.

On Tuesday alone, police detained 53 people, including 46 administratively and seven judicially, after young people gathered in streets around the University of Liege.

Some protesters damaged property and set fires, according to police.

Students and pupils across Belgium’s French-speaking education system have staged protests for several days over the rising cost of higher education and public transport passes, as well as a shortage of places in some classes, overcrowded timetables and difficulties obtaining course materials.

On Wednesday, students gathered peacefully outside the Athenee Leonie de Waha school in Liege, according to local media.

The demonstrations are expected to continue throughout the day.

In Brussels, around 250 young people marched from Brussels Central Station to protest education policies and rising education-related costs, broadcaster VRT reported.

Student protests were also reported elsewhere in Brussels. A group of young people gathered near a school on Roodebeek Avenue, carrying a banner reading, “Stop the school massacre.”

Student demonstrations in Mons remained peaceful, while protesters in Liege also marched peacefully in parts of the city.

Separately, a history teacher in the Brussels municipality of Saint-Gilles began a three-day hunger strike to protest cuts affecting school meal programs, according to broadcaster RTBF.

Michel Barile, a 62-year-old teacher, is demanding that free hot meals be maintained for vulnerable students.

Barile began the hunger strike at 8 am local time (0600GMT) and plans to continue until Friday afternoon under medical supervision.

The movement in Belgium came as French high school students have been blocking access to and staging protests outside their schools for several days, demanding better learning conditions.