In the Heart of the EU, Minor Student Protest Is Hijacked by Unruly Immigrant ‘Youths’ – BikeBQs Ensue

There seems to be something of a news blackout in Europe about this cranky student/educator dustup turned immigrant mob violence on the regular sites I’d check first.

Can’t imagine why. 

It’s only Brussels, home to all the magnificence that is the European Union central – the parliaments, the European Commission.

The feathered nest of that most lustrous Brahmin herself, Bond villainess extraordinaire and unelected Empress of Europe, Ursula Von der Leyen.

I wonder if she can smell burning bicycle tires from her windows?

In any event, here’s what kicked this off, and, being European, it’s quite confusing.

From what I gather, the Belgians have their country set up by national regions – the Flemish Region, the Brussels-Capital Region, and the Walloon Region. Within two of these regions (the Capital is its own thing), there are provinces which are subdivided into smaller municipalities, etc. We don’t need to go that granular.

Hang on – I’m not done yet, because you know it has to be more confusing than that. There are also three language-based ‘communities’ based on – I kid you not – FOUR distinct language groups: Flemish, French and Flemish, French, and German.

There ya go. It’s all in the Belgian constitution, and designed to ‘minimize cultural, etc., tensions.’

Belgium is a federal state comprising three communities and three regions that are based on four language areas. For each of these subdivision types, the subdivisions together make up the entire country; in other words, the types overlap.

The language areas were established by the Second Gilson Act, which entered into force on 2 August 1963. The division into language areas was included in the Belgian Constitution in 1970.^[1] Through constitutional reforms in the 1970s and 1980s, regionalisation of the unitary state led to a three-tiered federation: federal, regional, and community governments were created, a compromise designed to minimize linguistic, cultural, social, and economic tensions.^[2]

Well, it didn’t work.

What started this brouhaha off was the French community students objecting to a fee increase at their university and a proposal that would require teachers in the French system to put in two extra teaching hours a week for no additional pay.

French community students couldn’t care less what the Flemish community students are paying.

…Belgium’s French Community government, which oversees French-language education, plans to increase annual tuition fees for higher education to €1,194 ($1,280) from €835 for the majority of students.

Although still low by international standards, it represents a 35% increase, which the government says is part of a cost-cutting drive and brings fees broadly into line with those in Flemish, Dutch-speaking universities.

Changes Affecting Teachers

Other proposed measures include requiring teachers with pupils in the final years of secondary school to take on two extra classroom hours per week without additional pay, and revising tenure rules.

So the kids and teaching staff hit the streets, marching to the parliament where lawmakers were voting on the rate hike and new rules.

There were ugly scenes on the streets of Brussels on Thursday afternoon as a student protest turned violent, with serious clashes between police and protesters.

Thousands of students joined the protest to demonstrate against controversial education reforms introduced by the French Community of Belgium, officially known as the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (FWB). Many teachers also travelled to the capital to demostrate following a call for strike action issued by trade unions. 

The Federal Police said several incidents were reported across Brussels, “but mainly in the city centre”, causing disruption to parts of the metro network.

At around noon, students and teachers gathered near the FWB Parliament, where parliamentarians were debating a law setting out the new measures.

Some marched towards Brussels-Central station, where the situation escalated as demonstrators set fire to barriers, bicycles and other objects in the middle of the road near the station.

A few got feisty, but police kind of sort of had things in hand.

Until the large and volatile immigrant population in Brussels got wind of the ruckus, and decided to join in, just as it was calming down somewhat.

They always seem to have their own angry axes to grind and are never going to turn down a chance to rampage.

BREAKING:

A mob of second and third-generation migrants is rioting in central Brussels.

Public and private property is vandalized, fires are started and the police as well as firefighters are coming under attack with rocks and fireworks.

This is the EU’s capital city 🇪🇺🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/S270fuUJlC

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 4, 2026

Lots of fires and smoke started, and it was impossible to access the main train station.

BREKEND. Wat een hallucinante beelden. Er worden nu aan #Brussel-Centraal steps in brand gestoken, barricades gemaakt, bushokjes vernield en vuurwerk afgevuurd naar onder andere hulpdiensten. Onvoorstelbaar. Opkuisen en keihard aanpakken, dat is de enige taal die dit tuig kent! pic.twitter.com/LxMUntuSWX

— Tom Van Grieken (@tomvangrieken) June 4, 2026

BREAKING. What hallucinatory footage. Right now at #Brussel-Centraal, steps are being set on fire, barricades are being built, bus shelters are being smashed, and fireworks are being fired at emergency services, among others. Unbelievable. Clean it up and crack down hard—that’s the only language this scum understands!

The situation became so alarming that the US State Department issued an advisory urging US citizens to stay out of Central Brussels or, if they were already in the city, to leave immediately.

Whatever an American tourist decides to do, don’t let ‘stand around and take pictures’ be the first choice.

Belgium: There is currently a large demonstration with clashes between police and protesters ongoing near Gare Centrale in downtown Brussels, Belgium. U.S. citizens should avoid the area. There may be clashes elsewhere in the city. U.S. citizens are advised to leave the area if… pic.twitter.com/D5eXqk7OfL

— TravelGov (@TravelGov) June 4, 2026

…There may be clashes elsewhere in the city. U.S. citizens are advised to leave the area if they come across a protest.

🇧🇪More footage of the riots in Brussels, this time from a street view.

Migrant youths set e-bikes aflame in a giant bonfire. https://t.co/f6Dajgdd2S pic.twitter.com/rfoMkutDsz

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) June 4, 2026

Getting out of the danger zone if one accidentally stumbled into it was as perilous as ever.

What began today as a student protest in central Brussels against planned education reforms had turned into full-scale riots by the afternoon. According to Brussels police, the demonstration was deliberately hijacked by a group of “youths” who were only looking for a… pic.twitter.com/ULdvb6Jb0o

— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) June 4, 2026

…According to Brussels police, the demonstration was deliberately hijacked by a group of “youths” who were only looking for a confrontation.

It’s interesting about the Brussels cops, too. As this one British commenter said, the police there are between a rock and a self-imposed hard spot. There are far too many ‘youths,’ including those in the student crowd, of immigrant origins for them to effectively police a major clash. Yet, if they come down on them as hard as they should to stop the violence and destruction in its tracks? That only triggers a larger, more violent response from the whole community, which the local cops are in no shape or numbers to handle.

Protests against the increase of higher education tuition fees turned violent in the Belgian capital of Brussels. The government proposed a 35% increase in tuition fees, as well as other measures, to combat its budget deficit. pic.twitter.com/ztdqUoHtyb

— TVP World (@TVPWorld_com) June 4, 2026

More video and news is available now, and it’s being characterized as ‘clashes’ vice a riot. Because of course, it is.

Tear gas, fires, smoke, fireworks, and broken everything.

As one fellow said, ‘You have to wonder if we did this to ourselves.’

Nah.

No wondering about it, but it is a shame.

You don’t have to live like this.

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