Groups of participants in La Louvière Carnival observed a minute of silence around 1:00 PM on Sunday in honour of the victims of the Strépy-Bracquegnies drama one week ago.
At about 12:45, the groups entered the square adjoining La Louvière’s town hall, accompanied by their musicians, to take part in the traditional midday rondeau. The gilles, as the participants in the carnival are called, tapped the ground with their clogs, and wheeled and danced to the sound of the music.
At about 1:30 PM, the music stopped suddenly and the gilles froze for a minute of silence, as did the crowd around the square, while nearby cafés stopped playing music.
A series of officials of the commune were present for the moment of silence.
Young people in the crowd held up a banner bearing the inscription “Strépy 2022 forever in our hearts.”
Six people died last Sunday when a speeding hit-and-run driver slammed into a group of persons in Strépy-Bracquegnies, a locality close to La Louvière. Some 30 others were injured.
