To prevent possible issues arising during and after the match between Belgium and France in the eighth final (round of 16) of the Euro 2024 on Monday evening, several roads across the border between the two countries will be closed.
Ten municipal councils along the French-Belgian border – including Komen-Waasten and Wervik in Belgium – announced the closures of roads in their towns during the France-Belgium football match at 18:00 on Monday evening.
"There will be blockades or filter blockades at several border crossings from 16:00 on Monday," the ten mayors said in a joint press release over the weekend.
The blockades will only be lifted during the night "if the context allows." Importantly, three bridges will remain open, Komen-Waasten said on social media.
Disorder and vandalism
"The City Council wants to minimise the risks of disorder and vandalism," Wervik's Facebook page reads. Therefore, the Leie bridge between Wervik and Wervicq-Sud (France) will be closed off with concrete blocks from 17:00 on Monday to 06:00 on Tuesday. Cars will not be able to cross the bridge, but cyclists and pedestrians will be allowed.
During the World Cup in Russia six years ago, Wervik also blocked the bridge when the Red Devils were facing France. "It turned out to be a good decision," Wervik's Mayor Youro Casier told VRT.
Komen-Waasten took no measures at the time and was "confronted with French people crossing the bridge to damage cars and windows after the match," Casier said. "I recently had consultations with the other border Mayors. We decided to make our bridge inaccessible to cars again."
The ten border towns are spread over some 20 kilometres along the French-Belgian border. The municipal authorities will also issue assembly bans to prevent possible aggressiveness.
