At 9.30 a.m. on Monday, five activists were arrested after they entered the gardens of the Royal Palace. The five protesters, members of the environmentalist action group Extinction Rebellion, claimed that they wanted to deliver a letter to King Philippe, to ask him to decree the climate emergency in Belgium. As the movement stated: “This open letter is a direct appeal to the King to invite him and all Belgian citizens to join Extinction Rebellion on Saturday 12th October at 2 p.m. in the same place, the garden of the Royal Palace of Brussels (…), so that he can leave his reserve and declare a symbolic state of climatic emergency.”

After entering the gardens of the Palace, bypassing the gate, they were quickly intercepted by some police officers. However, The activists were subsequently lined up along the inside of the gates of the Royal Palace and Garden, at which point one of the activists read aloud the group’s letter addressed to King Philippe.

According to Extinction Rebellion, a police officer retrieved the letter and handed it over to the King.

Here an extract from the letter:

Your Majesty, your kingdom is burning. We are all in an unprecedented crisis situation, both in
terms of scale and severity. We address You directly to ask for help. Every day that
passes sees the means at our disposal to remedy the crisis diminish. (…) In these exceptionally grave circumstances, we recognize the need for extraordinary measures to protect our lives, those of our (as well as Your) children, and the ecosystem on which we all depend. We therefore respectfully ask His Majesty to leave his constitutional reserve to make the official declaration of a Climate and Ecological Emergency in Belgium. This is clearly a symbolic declaration. However, coming from His Majesty, this is a strong gesture that can significantly contribute to the most urgent implementation of a real crisis plan that mobilizes all available resources to deal with the climate and ecological disaster unfolding before our eyes.

Extinction Rebellion has organized a peaceful occupation in the garden of the Royal Palace on 12 October.

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On Wednesday, Stéphanie Lagasse, the spokesman of the Brussels’ attorney, stated that an investigation has been opened. The spokesman has also indicated that the fire could be related to the arrival, on the same day, of the Congolese president Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi to Brussels.

In fact, around 10 p.m. a video of the incident was shared on the Facebook page of a group of Congolese political activists –  Collectif des Congolais pour le Développement et la Paix (CCDP) -with the caption “For Congo, we’re ready for everything”.

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As Van Rampelbergh stated: “The march has been banned for safety reasons.” In fact, a few days before the police of Brussels Capital and Ixelles area advised against the demonstration.

The main claim of the manifestation was the end of the cordon-sanitaire, the inter-party agreement between N-Va, CD&V, and Open Vld to refuse to collaborate with the far-right party Vlaams Belang (VB). According to the Dutch media,  the implication of the Bloed, Bodem-Eer en Trouw group, the Flemish nationalist faction of the international neo-Nazi group Blood & Honour, was suspected.

However, on Sunday the police will still be alert since the arrival of the protesters is not excluded. In fact, notwithstanding the mayor’s veto, after the original one was removed, a new event page on Facebook was created, and it already counts hundreds of people interested in participating.

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March 15 witnessed the first edition of the “global strike for the future”. Marches were held in more than 120 countries around the world, and included some 30,000 demonstrators on the streets of Brussels.

As at the previous demonstration, Youth for Climate has called for unions to take part.

“We invite unions to join the movement to strengthen and spread the message,” said Anuna De Wever, spokeswoman for the movement. She added: “We aim to get as many people out onto the streets as we did in March. To do this, it is clear that everyone who is able to come must do so, including union members.”

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The scientists called for a global climate strike on March 15th.

The Youth for Climate movement have announced a European Action Day in 38 countries on March 15. This « Global Strike for Future » demands concrete measures to fight climate change.

In Belgium it will take take place in Brussels starting from Gare du Nord.

 

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Thank you everyone who came to the march today in Brussels ❤️❤️❤️ 12 000 in Belgium today! #schoolstrike4climate #climatestrike #fridaysforfuture

A post shared by Greta Thunberg (@gretathunberg) on Feb 21, 2019 at 9:33am PST

Moreover, the signatures that have been collected imply that they’ve tried all possible methods so far. According to scientists, the gap between decision makers and those who are affected is considerably big. They’re aiming to affect those who hold economic power, decision-makers, and leaders.

The cards which have been widely shared, such as by Le Soir, De Morgen and Bx1, they wrote several messages. One of them saying: « It has become a moral and political imperative for those who possess a piece of knowledge to accompany and encourage this mobilization of youth, to seek with it and with the greatest number of progressive and effective responses to the challenges we are now confronted with ».

 

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Mobilisation des étudiants à Paris : « plus de ruches, moins de riches ! » #climatechange #youthforclimate #climatestrike #fridayforfuture #schoolstrike4climate

A post shared by Le Parisien Etudiant (@leparisien.etudiant) on Feb 22, 2019 at 6:42am PST

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The march in Leuven, which was the main gathering, attracted 10,000 young people. Protests happened in several places in Belgium: Antwerp, Kortrijk and Hasselt.

600 protesters gathered in Antwerp according to police estimates. 1,000 in Kortrik and more than 500 in Hasselt.

 

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Les Hommes, les émotions, la vie m’inspirent, Mais c’est du carbone que je respire, Ces soi- disant grands Hommes que j’écoute eux aussi à chaque parole me dégoûtent Tout ces compliments à qui et à quoi? Sans agir me laissent dans le désarroi, Et que vont- ils nous laisser sur cette terre, Vont ils néanmoins nous la laisser? La jeunesse n’est pas dupe ni imbécile, Elle sait le manque de courage qui vous caractérise, Face à l’argent vous êtes des animaux , Qui autour n’entendent le moindre mot Marcher pour qui pour quoi, ça on le sait déjà, Marcher pour une terre qui m’inspire Et pour l’oxygène que les enfants respirent, Soudés nous le resterons jusqu’au bout, Et vers un but commun , nous prenons la route @loicvaniekaut

A post shared by Youth For Climate Belgium (@youth_for_climate_belgium) on Feb 7, 2019 at 7:40am PST

In Antwerp, the young people marched from the Operaplein to the Groenplaats. They aimed to show that they are ready to take concrete efforts to counter global warming.

One of the students, Warre Germis, claimed that even though they themselves are showing initiative, environmentally-friendly options such as commuting by train as opposed to taking the plane and vegetarian dishes seem to be more expensive. « We have to do more, and it must come from politics » concluded Warre Germis.

 

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Microplastics are small, barely visible pieces of plastic that enter and pollute the environment🗺❌ . . Follow @you_saving_the_planet for more content!🤓 . . you can save the world starting from small things everyday💪 . . . . . . . . . #10yearchallenge #globalwarming #climatechange #globalwarmingisreal #climatechangeisreal #nature #bio #microplastic #wild #wildlife #leonardodicaprio #leonardodicapriofdn #4ocean #surf #netflix #plasticpollution #20092019 #10years #climate #bio #ecofriendly #wildlife #eco #surfing #yousavingtheplanet #plasticfree #environment #earth #respectthenature

A post shared by there is no planet « B » (@you_saving_the_planet) on Feb 3, 2019 at 4:02am PST

The 1,000 young people in Kortrijk marched around the city during the morning and took a stop at the communal house. The crowd dispersed around 10:30 when the students returned to class.

 

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Manifestation du Jeudi 24 janvier

A post shared by Youth For Climate Belgium (@youth_for_climate_belgium) on Jan 25, 2019 at 11:38am PST

In Hasselt, the students were from 500 to 600 in numbers. It was a significant turnout. The gathering started at the Grote Markt at around 14:00.

 

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Vous étiez si nombreux jeudi à Bruxelles. toute la Belgique a participé ! Voici un cliché de la marche qui s’est déroulé à Liège ce jeudi ! On vous attends nombreux demain ! 🌍 Lets save our planet toegether

A post shared by Youth For Climate Belgium (@youth_for_climate_belgium) on Jan 26, 2019 at 4:26am PST

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This approximation does not include the damage to the communal roads and the two police cars which were burned.

A construction site of Brussels-Mobility has been destroyed near Madou Square, as well as several signs and traffic lights.

Damages are also visible near Rue de la Loi and Boulevard du Régent.

 

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SWIPE LEFT=> « Brussels 8 December 2018 an unauthorized demonstration of yellow vests. The yellow vests were very mobile and the police were particularly present & mobile as well. It was complicated to move around the city, Belgium ». #giletjaune #yellowvests #giletsjaunes #protest #Brussels #giletjaunebruxelles #FujifilmBelgium #FujifilmX30 #dreaminstreets #myspc #spicollective #photojournalism #mydaidia #reportagespotlight #everydayeverywhere #thestreetphotographyhub #heldcollective #streetphotographers #streetscenesmag #streets_storytelling #friendsinstreets #capturestreets #Streetizm #fromstreetswithlove #eyeshotmag #storyofthestreet #lensculturestreets #bcncollective #bnw_demand #zonestreet

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