Several thousand people demonstrated in Brussels on Sunday against the health pass and the restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, with cries of
"freedom"
.
The protesters - 5,000 according to the police - marched between the Brussels North station to the European district, at the call of the movement "Together for freedom", bringing together several associations.
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Demonstrations against the health certificate - required to access restaurants and cultural events in particular - have been taking place regularly for several weeks in the Belgian capital.
While previous rallies have sparked clashes with the police, this time the march took place in general calm, even if the police intervened to push back a small group of demonstrators who threw
"projectiles"
at them. , not far from the buildings of the European institutions.
About thirty arrests took place at the end of the demonstration, according to the police, who had also arrested before the march 11 people in possession of
"pyrotechnic means"
and flammable material.
The participants carried placards proclaiming "No to the vaccine dictatorship" or even "Hands off our children", in reference to the decision of the Belgian authorities to authorize the vaccination of 5-11 year olds.
"It is a completely absurd crisis management, which greatly undermines freedoms and which goes towards a Chinese-style system, if we let it happen"
, denounced a demonstrator, Danielle, refusing to give her last name, questioned by AFP.
Vaccination obligation
The Belgian Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke spoke on Sunday on the RTL television channel for the organization of a debate in the Federal Parliament
"as quickly as possible"
on the vaccination obligation or the establishment of a vaccination pass , like in France.
“Minds evolve. A year ago, I said: obligation is not a good idea, you have to convince people. Now, knowing that we must really vaccinate 100% of the population, which was not our idea a year ago, we believed that 70% was sufficient, we still need a kind of generalization ”,
a- he said.
However, he said he
“did not like the words”
of French President Emmanuel Macron who said he wanted to
“piss off”
the unvaccinated, believing that it was necessary to
“avoid this type of polarization”.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, who has also distanced himself from the controversial statements of the French head of state, said in an interview with
Le Soir
on Saturday that he could
"be convinced"
of the validity of the obligation. vaccine.