Police in Belgium fired tear gas as they tried to disperse tens of thousands of demonstrators protesting against Prime Minister Bart de Wever’s proposed austerity plans.
Minor scuffles broke out between police and protesters in Brussels, as workers staged a general strike against the government, organised by the country’s three largest unions.
Crowds, some playing drums and horns and others setting off flares and smoke bombs, crossed the entire city centre between the Gare du Nord and Gare du Midi train stations, Brussels police said.
While organisers said 150,000 people joined the demonstration, the police put the number at 80,000.
Most of the scheduled flights in and out of Belgium’s two largest airports were grounded as part of Tuesday’s industrial action.
All departures and around half of the scheduled arrivals at Brussels International Airport were cancelled as staff from the security firm providing X-ray screening walked out, an airport spokesman said.
At Brussels South Charleroi Airport, about 60 km (40 miles) south of the city, all flights were cancelled, according to the airport’s website.
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The protest also disrupted traffic and public transport in the Belgian capital.
Most of Brussels’ underground train, bus and tram lines were cut as a result of the strike, public transport operator STIB said in a post on social media platform X.
Traffic was gridlocked in places as protesters started fires on some of the city’s big boulevards, police said.
Some marchers carried signs with the number 67 crossed out, referring to the planned new retirement age, which already rose from 65 to 66 earlier this year.
Several dozen protesters were arrested.
Pension reform is one of the key issues for demonstrators, who were led by the country’s main unions and backed by activist groups such as Greenpeace and Oxfam.
The protesters are also unhappy with cuts to unemployment benefits and hospital funding that have been proposed by PM Bart De Wever and his new centre-right coalition government.
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Thierry Bodson, the leader of the FGTB union, which claims on its website to have more than 1.5 million members, told the French-language state radio station RTBF on Tuesday: “What really mobilises us are pensions.”
Mr Bodson said ministers’ plans would not only reduce income for future retirees but also introduce uncertainty by changing how state pensions are calculated.
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Mr De Wever, from the nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), became prime minister in February and now heads a predominantly right-wing coalition.
He has promised to reduce the national debt without raising taxes but is facing challenges in finalising next year’s budget.
