Brussels mayor Philippe Close has said that he wants to “work together to find solutions” to prevent incidents at demonstrations and maintain order in the capital. Close made the remarks during a Brussels-City council meeting held in response to a question from a concerned Brussels resident, Bruzz reports. The resident called for an improvement in the use of de-escalation tactics within the police force after listing incidents since 2021 in which the police were alleged to have acted disproportionately during demonstrations, strikes or other actions
in public spaces. The incidents included, among others, a 2021 demonstration against class-based justice, as well as the police response during the national trade union demonstration on 14 October last year in Brussels and police interventions during the violent education protests in June. “When will you realise that there’s a problem within the Brussels police force?” the resident asked in their question to the mayor. Close defended his police force and said that they acted proportionately and only intervened when necessary. He added that maintaining
public order in Brussels was becoming more complex. “Up to 1,200 demonstrations take place in Brussels every year,” said Close. “An increasing number of organisers are failing to follow the procedure and no longer submit an application for a demonstration permit. They are also more frequently refusing to engage in dialogue with the police.” Close expressed a desire for cooperative solutions and noted that he had recently held extensive talks with Amnesty International, which had previously also raised concerns about what it described as unlawful
police action and police violence during police operations. “We need to sit down together to minimise incidents,” Close said, adding that he wanted to work on “better management” during certain demonstrations and events, such as the anarchist ‘Carnaval Sauvage’ in the Marolles, where a firefighter was injured in March 2026 and which has occasionally got out of hand in previous years. In the meantime, the Human Rights League (LDH) is taking legal action against the Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police zone and mayor Close over the repeated use
of kettling during several demonstrations. The police have used this tactic, which involves encircling groups of demonstrators, particularly during recent rallies against education reform, despite the fact that a 2025 ruling by a Brussels court established that this practice is illegal. The case is under appeal, but the ruling remains enforceable pending a decision. The LDH considers that the use of kettling constitutes a serious interference with fundamental rights (freedom of movement, freedom of expression, the right to demonstrate) and condemned the violence perpetrated during
these operations. The organisation and the five applicants involved in the legal action are asking the court to recognise that the police actions carried out during the demonstrations on 16 May, 14 October and 10 November 2025 violated several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights – the right to liberty and security, freedom of expression, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly and freedom of association. Pending the judgement, they are also seeking an interim order prohibiting the police district from using such tactics,
on pain of a penalty payment of €10,000 for each instance of such tactics observed.