Comments by the chair of the French-speaking socialist PS party regarding the law to restrict protests have sparked political tensions with the leading French-speaking liberal party MR.
The proposal by former Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne could impose a judicial demonstration ban on so-called "rioters" as part of a larger reform of the Belgian legal system. He claimed the aim would be to stop people who do not actually take part in a demonstration, but reportedly make use of a demonstration to start fires, cause destruction or damage property.
However, unions have repeatedly taken to the streets to contest the law, most recently at the start of October, arguing that this could potentially restrict the right to strike, and calling on left-wing parties to oppose the text.
PS chair Paul Magnette has now said in an interview with L’Echo that the party would not vote in favour of the law. The draft got the green light in committee, but not yet in the House plenary, which is why the PS party is looking to put the brakes on it now.
Remove controversial articles
While Magnette did acknowledge the validity of its core intent, as explained by Van Quickenborne around the time of the demonstrations, namely that the aim was to tackle rioters in order to support the freedom to demonstrate, he expressed concerns about the broader implications of the legislation.
He alluded to the issues of striking rights, a limit of 100 participants for protests, and the potential reinterpretation of specific penal code articles while recognising the fears of trade unions and NGOs.
"Instead of voting for a poorly drafted law, I think we should remove these articles from the draft of the new penal code and proceed with analysis of the remaining text," he suggested.
Ecolo, through Deputy Prime Minister Georges Gilkinet, had also pushed for changes to the first draft text at the heart of the government. The opposition communist party PVDA is satisfied that the PS is turning a corner, with General Secretary Peter Mertens stating this will "bury" the ban on demonstrations.
However, the opinion has been criticised by MR president Georges-Louis Bouchez who warned that, if the PS effectively refuses to approve the judicial ban on demonstrations in parliament, other agreements will be at risk.
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"The PS is not burying anything because it is not leading the Federal Government alone. This text was the subject of an agreement. Not respecting this agreement would lead to other agreements being called into question," he wrote on X, the former Twitter.
"Loyalty cannot be limited to some. Seeing the PS defend the rioters in this way is totally inappropriate for a democratic party."
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has not responded to the PS's announcement for now, and current Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt's cabinet says it will see "how the situation will evolve within the government".
