Belgium’s Francophone Schools Open Amid Teacher Unrest

The Francophone education system in Belgium began the 2026-2027 school year on Monday with immediate disruption, as at least one school went on strike and unions warned of further actions through September. The unrest stems from a third round of austerity measures that teachers say will cost thousands of jobs and increase workloads without additional pay.

Context: A School Year Shaped by Austerity

The Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles — which oversees education in Brussels and Wallonia — welcomed approximately 900,000 students and 120,000 teachers back to school on August 24. But the festive atmosphere of a new academic year was tempered by lingering tensions from the previous year, when strikes disrupted classes for weeks and some students went without school for extended periods.

According to VRT NWS, the unrest is driven by a third round of budget cuts implemented by Education Minister Valérie Glatigny (MR), part of a broader plan to save 500 million euros by 2029.

The Most Controversial Measure

At the heart of the dispute is a requirement that teachers in the final years of secondary education now teach 22 hours per week instead of 20, without additional compensation. Only teachers over 60 or those in their first year of teaching receive an exemption.

The increased teaching hours effectively eliminate approximately 1,300 full-time positions. Union estimates suggest that between 6,000 and 7,000 teachers are affected by this measure alone, as VRT NWS reported.

“If you make all secondary teachers work 10 percent more, you also need 10 percent fewer teachers,” said Jorre De Witte, union secretary at the socialist education union CGSP Enseignement. “The youngest teachers simply end up on unemployment benefits.”

A Teacher Without a Classroom

The human impact of the reforms was visible on the first day of school. Chrisley Philippart, a science teacher in the Mons region with four years of experience, had no school assignment on opening day. “When you dedicate yourself to this profession, you hope to have your class from the beginning to the end of the year,” he told RTL Info. “After this little interview, I’m going to sign up for unemployment.”

Despite the setback, Philippart said he remains committed to teaching. “I will continue, I want to be a teacher. It’s a vocation.”

Union Actions and Strike Notice

A strike notice filed by the common union front covers all union actions until September 27, as RTL reported. At least one school — l’Athénée Léonie de Waha in Liège — was on strike on the first day, telling VRT NWS: “We’ll see how it continues from there.”

Luc Toussaint, president of CGSP Enseignement, said the school year start would “more than likely” be disrupted. “The goal of angry teachers is for the government to return to a different way of functioning,” he said.

The action collective Mars Attacks, which includes teachers, students, and parents, plans actions in the coming weeks but chose not to disrupt the first day, preferring to first assess the impact of the cuts on the ground.

Minister Defends Reforms

Minister Glatigny, however, maintains that the measures are irreversible. “The measures have been voted and will not be reversed,” she said, citing the precarious budgetary situation of the French Community.

Speaking on the first day of school, Glatigny told RTBF that the start was going “smoothly and calmly” and expressed confidence that “there will be no job losses.” She acknowledged that some temporary teachers would lose hours but said they would “quickly find those hours again.”

The minister also announced a “lab-école” initiative to bring together 1,000 teachers in ten workshops across the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, a move some critics see as an attempt to bypass unions, as RTL reported.

Broader Cuts Beyond Teaching Hours

The austerity package extends well beyond increased teaching hours. Higher education tuition fees are rising, budgets for free school materials and meals in disadvantaged neighborhoods are being reduced, and stricter measures target long-term sick teachers. The differentiation year — a preparatory first year of secondary school for students who didn’t pass their CEB exams — has been abolished.

These measures follow a turbulent 2025-2026 school year. According to BRUZZ, nearly 40,000 students signed a petition asking for exams to be cancelled due to missed classes. Some Liège schools ultimately cancelled final exams, and protests turned violent in June when rioters disrupted demonstrations.

The Budgetary Squeeze

The French Community faces a severe fiscal crisis. Education accounts for 70 percent of its budget, and unlike Flanders — which merged its regional and community competencies — the Francophone side maintains separate structures with limited fiscal flexibility. The French Community has no taxing authority and must function with funds from the federal government.

Political journalist Alain Gerlache told VRT NWS that “saving at the French Community means saving on education,” adding: “Given the financial situation of the French Community, there is no other choice than to save.”

What’s Next

With a strike notice extending through September 27 and unions promising a “warm autumn,” the new school year is likely to remain turbulent. Parents who lived through last year’s disruptions are watching warily. As one father of two teenagers in Francophone education told VRT NWS: “My children have only been to school 2.5 days since the end of April.”

For now, both sides appear entrenched. Glatigny insists the reforms are necessary and permanent, while teachers and unions say the measures are unsustainable. The coming weeks will reveal whether dialogue can replace confrontation — or whether Belgium’s Francophone schools face another year of disruption.