Liège Police Report More Than 100 Arrests in a Week of Student Protests
Liège police reported on 7 October 2026 that 107 people had been arrested in the city since the student protests began on 1 October. The Liège prosecutor's office said the detentions included 33 administrative detentions and 20 judicial detentions, among them 17 minors.
Clashes continued on Tuesday, 6 October, the fourth school day of protests in French-speaking Belgium. In Liège, a group of students marched in the afternoon before dispersing in the city centre, and one group broke windows at a local school before police arrived. Windows at the Royal Athenaeum of Liège were broken and trash cans set on fire, and police deployed water cannon and tear gas, disrupting traffic in the area.
The students are protesting tuition that has risen to as much as 1,194 euros, overcrowded classrooms and limited study materials. Protest signs insist they are fighting for rights, not privileges. Some students say they are in contact with peers in France, offering mutual support, though the Belgian protests remain relatively small and centred on Liège, with a few hundred participants.
Authorities have stepped up their response: businesses were advised to close early, Liège's main train station was closed for a time, and the public was urged to avoid the city centre. Education Minister Valérie Glatigny has proposed a channel for students to report education problems directly. Protesters, meanwhile, are looking ahead to the national day of action on 9 October.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：列日亲王主教宫实景。摄影：Marc Ryckaert，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
