Police and masked protesters clash in Brussels as anti-austerity rally disrupts city

BRUSSELS — Police and protesters clashed in Brussels on Friday as tens of thousands of people rallied separately in the Belgian capital against rising living costs and budget-tightening measures introduced by the government.

Dozens of protesters, many of them young, dressed in black and wearing masks, threw rocks and firecrackers at police at the central Brussels railway station, before setting several fires, one to a pile of city bikes and electric scooters.

Riot police responded with tear gas, water cannons and baton charges, pushing the protesters from area.

Police said that those “who caused the problems of public order are not linked" to the anti-austerity rally, which they said drew around 30,000 people. Organizers said that 50,000 people turned out.

The clashes came after a week of tensions in the city of Liege, where authorities placed a ban on public gatherings as students clashed with police and vandalized shops. More than 200 people were arrested in Liege and dozens of police injured.

Union movements had hoped to draw tens of thousands of people to Brussels as the Belgian government struggles to finalize a budget for next year. Belgium is mired in public debt, like its neighbor France and also Italy.

Union leaders said the rioters had nothing to do with their rally. Union members and their supporters were dressed colorfully, clad in red or green, and their march through the Brussels city center passed off peacefully.

“I work, but I cannot make ends meet,” said Marie Gobert, a single mother and social worker who came from the city of Namur with one of her daughters for the march.

She told The Associated Press that schools costs have just gone up along with the price of public transport and train tickets. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this anxious about all the measures making my daily life difficult," she said.

Traffic and public transport across the city were disrupted on Friday.

“You can feel the social tension, you can feel anger starting to simmer everywhere,” Gobert said. “The education system is being dismantled and when young people want to speak out no one listens to them.”