Belgian School Director Says Education Minister Has Lost All Credibility
The director of a French-speaking school in Namur has declared that French Community Education Minister Valérie Glatigny has “lost all credibility,” as a deepening crisis over austerity measures in Belgium’s Francophone education system shows no signs of abating.
Hans Gys, director of Institut Saint-Louis in Namur, told VRT Radio 1’s “De Ochtend” that Glatigny’s confrontational style and the speed at which she pushed through sweeping reforms have alienated teachers, school leaders, and students alike. “With her style and speed, she has given everyone — teachers, management, students, whoever — a reason to be very angry,” Gys said, as reported by VRT NWS.
Context: A System in Crisis
The criticism comes against the backdrop of a severe structural deficit in the French Community of Belgium (Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles), which has no fiscal powers and depends entirely on transfers from other government levels. On June 5, after a 14-hour marathon session, the Parliament of the French Community approved a sweeping savings plan totaling approximately €300 million in the short term and €500 million by 2029, on a total budget of roughly €15 billion, as VRT NWS reported.
The austerity measures include a 10% increase in teaching time for higher secondary education teachers without salary compensation, a stricter sick leave regime for tenured staff, tighter end-of-career rules, and tuition fee increases of up to €1,194 for 58% of higher education students.
Escalating Protests and Disruption
The reforms have triggered massive protests across Wallonia and Brussels. On November 10, 2025, some 120,000 education staff participated in a mass strike, with police charging protesters in Brussels. More recently, on June 4, demonstrations turned violent, with looting and property damage reported in Brussels, Namur, and Liège. At least 10 people were arrested on June 5 alone.
The protest collective Mars Attacks!, representing 311 French-speaking schools in Brussels and Wallonia, has announced daily protests for the next two weeks. Spokesperson Maud De Ridder, a French teacher and Ecolo municipal councilor, told VRT NWS that “all reforms must be taken off the table and there must be refinancing of the French Community.” She added: “We will continue until the bitter end.”
In Liège province, end-of-year exams have been cancelled in schools run by the province and municipality, as well as some Catholic schools. Schools in Namur have agreed to hold modified exams.
A Minister Under Fire
Valérie Glatigny (MR), a former journalist and political advisor who became French Community Education Minister in 2024, has been described by political journalist Alain Gerlache as a “loyal party soldier” of MR chairman Georges-Louis Bouchez. Her policy of “savings without new taxes” is characteristic of Bouchez’s political line, Gerlache noted in a profile published by VRT NWS.
Gys compared Glatigny’s communication style to that of Bouchez and Flemish Education Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA), describing them as “people who seem to have little empathy, for whom communication is very difficult.” He added: “Since she became minister, we have tried to communicate with her. But she pretends. She refuses, and I see that no one has any trust in her anymore.”
Analysis: A Hopeless Situation?
Political analyst Alain Gerlache offered a bleak assessment of the crisis. “Saving at the French Community means saving on education,” he said, noting that the institution’s other competencies are too small to contribute meaningfully to the required savings. “Given the financial state of the French Community, there is no other choice but to save.”
Unlike Flanders, which merged its regional and community institutions, Wallonia and the French Community remain separate entities — and the French Community cannot levy taxes. A merger of the two entities would merely create a “fusion of debts,” Gerlache warned. “I fear the situation is currently hopeless.”
Sociologist Dirk Jacobs of ULB has previously warned that Glatigny’s exclusion of stakeholders from decision-making fuels discontent, a dynamic that appears to be playing out in real time as the protest movement gains momentum.
What’s Next
With the savings plan approved but the protest movement intensifying, the standoff shows no signs of resolution. Glatigny has indicated a willingness to speak with teachers and students to explain the decisions, but the breakdown in trust appears profound. Mars Attacks! has vowed to continue protests through the summer and into the next school year if necessary, while the structural financial challenges facing the French Community remain unresolved.
For now, schools in Namur have cautiously reopened, but as Gys noted, the damage to the relationship between the education ministry and those on the front lines of teaching may take far longer to repair.