The youth wing of the French-speaking socialist union FGTB plans to organise two marches through one of the most affluent areas in Brussels to "dive into the lives of the superwealthy". The stunt has received mixed reviews.
The Jeunes FGTB created a Facebook event titled a "guided tour of the super-rich", expected to take place in the Prince d'Orange neighbourhood in Uccle. Three of the five most expensive streets in Belgium are located here making it just the spot to see how Belgium's more moneyed residents live, the group believes.
"We organised the activity to shed light on how the great fortunes of Belgium live and are organised," the FGTB's Miguel Schelck told The Brussels Times. Belgium's 500 richest people are worth €142.4 billion, more than a fifth of Belgium's GDP.
Schelck noted that there are questions that many people ask themselves about this elite group, such as which families have been the driving force behind industrial projects, for how many generations have certain families lived off inherited wealth and whether there are still assets in this neighbourhood that are built on colonial exploitation.
"These topics are usually not taught at school, but which we will look into during the tours," he said, adding that the group intends these gatherings to be educational. A "specialist in the economic elite" will accompany particpants on the tours.
'Sold out'
The first tour is scheduled for Saturday 30 March and is expected to last around two hours. Organisers originally expected a group of 25 but the event has garnered significant interest on Facebook, with over 1,100 responses.
As a result, the first event has already "sold out", and the group has already had to plan several other dates to meet demand. The second has already been confirmed for 20 April at 14:00. "Visits will be planned after the summer too to meet this demand, as we still have 80 people on a waiting list," Schelck said.
The tour comes as public attention looks towards the June elections. It seeks to put the social divide and wealth tax – central to the election campaigns of several parties – in the spotlight.
'Bunch of clowns'
Boris Dilliès (MR), mayor of Uccle, has poured cold water on the initiative. "As an action, I would say it's just a bit grotesque and ridiculous," he told The Brussels Times, adding that the organisation is "a bunch of clowns" and a "caricature".
He stressed that the tour would require police authorisation due to the number of people taking part, which the group has reportedly not applied for yet. "Once the request has been made, we'll check with the police to see whether they need supervision or not," he noted.
Dilliès has been contacted by people living in the area who saw the event and expressed their concerns about it. "I have assured them that we were following it up and that there was no need to get too worked up about it. My job is to ensure that everything goes smoothly and that this doesn't disrupt the lives of the residents."
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He suggested a different type of tour: "They could come and meet entrepreneurs who live in the area in question and who can tell them a bit about how they managed to buy a nice house in a nice area." Theo Francken, an MP for the right-wing nationalist N-VA party, on his part said on social media that he found the event "intimidating, stigmatising and discriminatory".
But Schelck was simply "amused" by their responses. "We're not surprised by their reaction, which is in line with the policies of their respective parties: above all, to protect the great fortunes of Belgium."
"For our part, we know that we are going to offer participants a high-quality event based on economic and historical analysis. Their criticism is unlikely to undermine our event."
