Belgium Student Protests Erupt Over Education Costs as Over 100 Detained in Liege

More than one hundred people were taken into custody in the eastern Belgian city of Liege this week after demonstrations against the rising cost of education descended into violence, according to police figures reported by the Belga news agency. The unrest, which unfolded across Tuesday and Wednesday, marks a sharp escalation in a wave of student activism that has been building in Belgium's French-speaking regions for months.

According to Liege police, eighty people were detained during the protests, while twenty-seven others were formally arrested. Authorities said some participants damaged property and set fires during the demonstrations, which drew high school and university students angered by what they describe as overcrowded classrooms and mounting barriers to accessing educational resources.

The protests reflect deep frustration within Belgium's French-language education system, where students say conditions have deteriorated to the point that street action has become their only viable means of being heard. Amelia Di Salve, a nineteen-year-old training to become a teacher, told reporters that the lack of progress through conventional channels left students with little alternative. She explained that when it became clear nothing would change without protests, they decided to take action, acknowledging that similar demonstrations in neighbouring France had influenced their decision to mobilise.

Another nineteen-year-old student, identified only as Alfred, echoed that sentiment, telling Reuters that students on both sides of the border share common grievances and have drawn strength from one another's movements. "We support each other because we're facing pretty much the same issues," he said, underscoring the cross-border solidarity emerging among young people in Western Europe.

The demonstrations in Liege are the latest flashpoint in a broader surge of student unrest that has gripped Belgium's French-speaking communities since the beginning of October. Clashes between students and riot police have reportedly become a daily occurrence, following a full year of peaceful union-led demonstrations by teachers. What began as organised, orderly protest by educators has evolved into more spontaneous and confrontational action by students who feel their concerns are being ignored.

Liege Mayor Willy Demeyer sought to lower the temperature, telling Belgian broadcaster RTBF that dialogue remains possible and expressing hope that young people could express their grievances through peaceful means. He emphasised the importance of ensuring those concerns are heard, a message that appeared aimed at both calming the streets and signalling openness from local authorities.

The unrest has not been confined to Liege. Sporadic violent demonstrations broke out in Brussels over the summer, triggered by a significant increase in tuition fees for students in French-speaking areas. Fees rose from 835 euros, roughly 930 dollars, to 1,194 euros, or about 1,340 dollars, representing an increase of more than forty percent. That hike, combined with broader economic pressures, has fuelled anger among students who say the cost of higher education is being pushed beyond reach for ordinary families.

Belgium's education system is uniquely decentralised, a fact that complicates any national response to the crisis. Education is managed independently by the country's linguistic communities, with no single national curriculum. The Flemish population regulates schooling in the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders, while French-speaking Wallonia oversees its own system, and parents in the bilingual capital of Brussels can choose where to enrol their children. This fragmented structure means that reforms and funding decisions affecting French-speaking students are made separately from those impacting their Dutch-speaking peers, potentially widening disparities between the two systems.

The financial pressures driving the protests are rooted in a broader cost-of-living crisis and spiralling energy costs that have strained public budgets across Europe. Belgium's education budget has come under significant pressure as a result, forcing difficult choices about funding and tuition. These same economic forces are helping to fuel student protests in France, where demonstrations have similarly erupted over education spending and access.

The timing of the Belgian protests, coming on the heels of sustained teacher strikes, suggests a growing impatience with the pace of reform. Teachers spent a year demonstrating peacefully, yet students say they have seen little improvement in classroom conditions or resource availability. That frustration has now boiled over into more disruptive action, with students arguing that incremental approaches have failed to deliver results.

The involvement of high school students, some of them minors, adds a layer of concern for authorities. The images emerging from Liege, including smashed shop windows and burning debris, have raised questions about the direction the movement may take if grievances remain unaddressed. While protest organisers insist their aims are peaceful, the sporadic violence risks alienating public sympathy and complicating efforts to build broader support.

For the Belgian government and regional authorities in Wallonia, the challenge is twofold: addressing the immediate unrest while tackling the structural issues that sparked it. The tuition fee increase has become a focal point, but students also point to overcrowded classrooms, insufficient learning materials, and a general sense that education is being deprioritised in budget decisions. Without a credible response, observers warn that the protests could intensify and spread further.

The cross-border dimension of the unrest is also notable. Students in Belgium and France are framing their struggles as part of a shared crisis in access to education, one driven by economic pressures that transcend national borders. That sense of solidarity, expressed by protesters like Alfred, could sustain momentum for the movement even as individual demonstrations are dispersed.

As of Wednesday evening, the situation in Liege remained tense, with police maintaining a visible presence and authorities urging calm. Whether the arrests and the mayor's call for dialogue will succeed in de-escalating the situation remains uncertain. What is clear is that a generation of students in Belgium's French-speaking regions has decided that the status quo is no longer acceptable and that they are prepared to take to the streets to demand change.