Protesters wandered uphill along the Brussels inner-city ring-road, applauding the police helicopters and drones overhead, until they reached the Art Loi underground station near the prime minister’s office, at which point they were stopped by police in riot gear. 

While the peaceful marchers turned back, a small minority of perhaps 200 pressed ahead, looking for confrontation.

Within minutes, young men were lobbing stones and fireworks and police were responding with water cannon, tear gas and pepper spray. Police called in reinforcement at around 3pm and then advanced on the stone-throwers, forcing them into an alley leading towards the European Parliament, where they lit barricades.

Many Dutch-speaking Flemings marched in what is a predominantly French-speaking city. Flanders, in Belgium’s north, is one of the most vaccinated regions in the world – with a vaccination rate approaching 95% – but is nevertheless struggling in Belgium’s fourth wave as much  as the rest of the country. A doctor at a hospital in Antwerp reported earlier this month that all patients in his intensive care ward were vaccinated.

Government coalition parties have agreed to sack unvaccinated healthcare workers from early next year, triggering strike threats from hospital unions in the French-speaking south. Calls for compulsory vaccination of the entire population have until now been resisted by prime minister Alexander De Croo, who said such measures “would give the anti-vaxxers wings”.