Chaos on the streets of Brussels: Buses set ablaze as protesters clash with police VIDEO

According to Reuters, several dozen masked individuals dressed in black threw stones and other objects at the police, while anti-police slogans echoed through the streets and nearby walls were covered in graffiti with similar messages.

Firefighters tackled several fires, including those involving buses, while police responded with tear gas and water cannons.

According to a police statement, around 30,000 people joined the main protest march, which proceeded peacefully. However, unrest broke out near Brussels-Central railway station and in the city centre, where some groups threw bottles, bricks, stones and pyrotechnic devices at police officers, set fires and vandalised public property.

A total of 21 people were detained or arrested in connection with the incidents, including 13 minors.

Strike paralyzes transport, schools also closed

The strike severely disrupted public transport and air traffic, while numerous schools and kindergartens were also affected.

The strike was called by Belgium’s two largest trade unions, the socialist FGTB/ABVV and the Christian CSC/ACV. They oppose budgetary measures that they say will shift the burden of reducing the national deficit onto workers, pensioners and low-income households.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on Thursday that painful measures are necessary and must be implemented immediately to prevent a spiral of rising public debt and interest costs that would leave future generations with a heavy financial burden.

Students take to the streets: “Education is a right, not a privilege”

Students also joined the protests, with demonstrations beginning earlier this month in Liège before spreading to Brussels. They drew some inspiration from protests in neighbouring France.

Students oppose rising education costs, overcrowded classrooms and reforms that they fear will make higher education less accessible.

Banners displayed messages such as “Education Is a Right, Not a Privilege.”

“Nobody takes us into account at all, and it seems that nobody understands how difficult things are for us, both workers and students. We are fighting too, and we are the future of this country,” 23-year-old Liège student Emilia L’Onu told Reuters.

Wave of protests sweeps across Europe

The strike in Belgium is part of a broader wave of protests sweeping across Europe. Students in France, Italy and other countries are taking to the streets over education funding, while tens of thousands of people have protested in Spain over the housing crisis.