Liège Schools Blocked by Students Backing Teachers

Students blocked or picketed roughly a dozen secondary schools across the province of Liège on Thursday morning, 1 October, in a spontaneous show of support for teachers battling the education reforms of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB). Police reported projectiles thrown and widespread vandalism in central Liège, even as other students staged calm, orderly blockades.

The movement, which began around 8 a.m. and was still ongoing by midday, echoed the French lycéen revolt that has shut hundreds of schools across France for more than a week, according to La Libre Belgique.

A Spontaneous Movement, and a Divided One

Affected schools included the Athénée d’Ans, the Athénée de Fragnée, École Saint-Laurent, Saint-Sépulcre, the École Marie-Thérèse in Hors-Château, and schools in Esneux and Grâce-Hollogne, RTL Info reported.

Accounts diverged sharply on the character of the protests. “There were projectiles thrown (firecrackers, eggs, apples, barriers…) and numerous acts of vandalism,” a Liège police spokesperson said, adding that the worst damage occurred in the Hors-Château district, where students burned shared e-scooters, set bins alight and tore up street furniture. Footage circulated on TikTok live.

At the E.C.C.S.A. school, by contrast, students and some teachers blocked the entrance without incident. “We are currently blocking the entrance to the school with some teachers, calmly. We want to show that we can protest without causing damage,” one student told RTL.

Minister Condemns the Violence

FWB Education Minister Valérie Glatigny (MR) responded on X, condemning the disruption. “Preventing students from going to class, throwing projectiles at police officers, committing vandalism under pressure from people outside the schools: none of this is acceptable,” she wrote.

Her reference to outside agitation was not independently verified in the sources reviewed. Local reaction among residents was blunt. “It’s a disgrace! They’re not even credible anymore. They break things just to break things. They even burn the shared scooters,” a resident named Lucie told RTL.

The unrest spilled over into the local economy. The Mendolia family, who run a pizzeria on rue Hors-Château, could not open at 11:30 as planned because suppliers were unable to deliver, DH/Les Sports+ reported. “I have to close everything,” one family member said. By midday, police had asked schools to keep students confined over the lunch period, according to DH.

The Teacher Dispute Behind the Blockades

The student action is a spillover from a conflict that has simmered since the start of the school year. Teachers in several Liège-area schools began striking in late August, with the movement spreading to Soumagne and Herstal. Unions warned then that the fight would be long.

“Today, with the start of the school year, teachers are becoming fully aware of the measures that were taken. And there is social damage. There is damage at the level of the students,” said Roland Lahaye, secretary-general of the CSC Enseignement union, speaking to RTL. “The student must remain at the center of our concerns, and that is what makes teachers so angry.”

The grievances are several. Upper-secondary teachers have been asked to take on two additional periods “face to face” with classes — roughly 10 percent more work without salary compensation. Glatigny has argued the measure affects about 1,300 full-time equivalents, against 2,170 unfilled posts from natural departures, and insisted there will be no outright dismissals. “No one ever said our teachers worked too little,” she told RTBF in January.

A separate flashpoint erupted in late September, when teachers noticed apparently lower salary scales on their September payslips, linked to a federal freeze on indexation above €4,000 gross. The cabinet called the figure a “barème fictif,” but unions demanded clarity and Mars Attacks called a work stoppage, RTBF reported.

A French Echo

The timing is no accident. Since late September, French lycéens have blockaded hundreds of schools — 356 on Wednesday alone, according to the French Interior Ministry — over staffing, resources and reform. On Thursday, French student unions called for an “act two,” with 625 people arrested and 83 officers injured on Wednesday, BFMTV reported.

Belgian students framed their action around the slogan “On est là pour nos profs” — we are here for our teachers — fusing the French student template with the local teacher grievance.

What to Watch

Several questions remain open. No single official figure has been published for the total number of students involved; reports describe “hundreds” or “des centaines.” It is also unclear how much of the disorder was driven by students versus outside participants, as the Minister suggested.

The larger test is political. If the teacher dispute continues to draw student support, the FWB government — a coalition of MR and Les Engagés — may face pressure to reopen talks on the reforms it has so far defended. For now, the blockades have ended one school day early, and the movement’s next step is uncertain.