Tens of thousands protest march against the Belgian government

Tens of thousands protest march against the Belgian government

Tens of thousands of Belgians marched Thursday in the center of Brussels to show their dissatisfaction with the government's economic policies.

March is the start of a series of demonstrations and strikes as trade unions and the opposition coalition has initiated.

Police expected that about 80,000 people came to participate in the march, while organizers hoped for over 100,000.

According to AP, it is estimated that about 100,000 people participate in the demonstration. The first two hours of the demonstration should have been quiet, protesters marched peacefully through the Belgian main object's streets. But when the demonstration train neared the end the police and protesters clashed.

From belgium dockers go to Brussel

The police should have used the water cannons and tear gas against demonstrators.

Railway Workers stated earlier Thursday that they have sold 80,000 cheap tickets to encourage people to participate in the protest. In addition, employees of the steel industry and in the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge as well as in the post and the school system host a go-slow campaign.

The outrage is directed against the country's fresh four-party government, which has decided that the wages shall not be adjusted in line with inflation, as usual.

The protesters also rejects the plan to increase the retirement age from 65 to 66 years in 2025 and to 67 in 2030. In addition, the Government has proposed a number of budget cuts in both the central government and within culture and research. The goal is to get the state budget into balance by 2018.

- The series of government measures creates a potentially explosive cocktail, says Marie-Helene Ska, Secretary General of the Belgian parent organization CSC, the newspaper Le Soir.

The next week it planned a series of strikes in the Belgian provinces, before it all culminates in a nationwide general strike on 15 December.