ollowing a demonstration by right-wing groups against the UN migration pact, police in Brussels used tear gas and a water cannon to attack violent offenders.
69 people were taken into custody for property damage, as Brussels Mayor Philippe Close told Belga news agency.
According to the report, the violence was committed by participants in the right-wing rally in the European Quarter. Of the original 5500 demonstrators, 300 to 400 would have tried to invade the EU Commission building. Rioters threw stones and other items, a Belga correspondent reported. The police had intervened immediately. By the late afternoon, according to the report, the situation had calmed down.
The Marsh against Marrakech, organized by right-wing and far-right Flemish groups, was directed against the UN pact approved last Monday in Morocco. Protesters called Belga priority for „their own people,“ closed borders, and the resignation of Prime Minister Charles Michel.
A left counter-demonstration attracted about a thousand people. According to Mayor Close, they demonstrated without incident several kilometers away near the Parc Maximilien. A group of the protest movement „Yellow West“ supported the counter-demonstrators and distanced themselves from the right-wing deployment.
