Saint Nicolas arrived on Wednesday at Brussels school in a Porsche convertible, provoking the wrath of local opposition parties.
Surrounded by a police motorcycle escort, Saint Nicolas' unusual arrival at the Églantiers school was shared online by the Municipality of Uccle.
"Distinguished guests visited our schools this morning and to the great joy of our students," the post stated.
While the children of Uccle were visibly overjoyed, not everyone was sharing their festive spirit. While certain users commented on polluting school kids with CO2, to which the Uccle municipality replied saying it was only a short distance.
Yet, with the video having already garnered around 30,000 view, the row has escalated further with the growing condemnation from an opposition politician in the Brussels municipality, BX1 reports.
"It's caricaturesque," he explains. It's like being in another world and another time. The municipality is not afraid of bad buzz, at a time when soft mobility is being advocated and COP28 is being held. If we had taken such a step and Ecolo had been in opposition, we would have been covered in insults," says Emmanuel De Bock, DéFi local councillor, on Bx1.
The municipality of Uccle, governed by a coalition of MR, Les Engagés and Ecolo, has been a staunch opponent of the Brussels mobility policy, dubbed Good Move, which aims to make Brussels more pleasant and accessible by reducing traffic and improving cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.
De Bock also points to the costs associated with the presence of three police officers and a security detail.
"The municipality employed 3 police officers to escort Saint-Nicolas, and municipal employees were certainly mobilised to install the Nadar barriers. This represents several hours' work. In times of crisis, this is a public waste," continued Emmanuel De Bock.
But not everyone was of the same opinion, notably the Mayor of Uccle Boris Dilliès.
"I take full responsibility," he retorts, before specifying that the distance covered by the Porsche was barely 100 metres, and that car was lent to the municipality by a parent.
"There's always pain to enjoy. It's grotesque. And if there are grumpy people, that's their problem," Dilliès said defiantly.
