Prices soared, inflation remained high, and Belgians took to the streets once again. According to the Brussels Times local time reported on the 20th, on Monday morning, 80,000 Belgians marched in the streets of the capital Brussels to protest the soaring prices in the country. On the same day, the country's traffic was paralyzed, all flights at Brussels Airport were suspended, and public transportation such as trains, subways, trams, and buses was also affected.
The protesters, dressed in colors representing the three Belgian unions
In May, Belgium's inflation rate reached 8.97%, the highest level since 1982, and in June, inflation rose again slightly to 9%, and the country's National Bank data showed that low- and middle-income groups were struggling to survive, and more and more people were unable to pay their bills, but corporate profits were showing historic highs due to soaring prices.
On Monday morning, tens of thousands of people gathered in the capital, Brussels, to demonstrate against the soaring cost of living and the severe decline in the purchasing power of citizens. Organizers of the demonstration said about 80,000 people took part in the demonstration, and several of the country's largest unions joined the demonstration. Some held up marching slogans of "higher wages, more respect" and "the cost of living is too high, we need higher wages", calling for changes to the wage law;
Someone lit a smoke bomb;
At the front of the parade, there were still people playing.
On the same day, Brussels traffic was severely affected by the demonstrations, only one of the city's four subway lines operated normally, 7 of the 17 trams operated normally, most buses were also suspended, and many commuters were affected by the lack of public transportation. Trains to Brussels continued to operate, and many people from the surrounding area took the train to participate in the demonstrations.
In the face of popular discontent, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croix called on everyone to come to the negotiating table to seek a solution, saying that the automatic wage index system has better coverage in Belgium than other neighboring countries, "We have 4 increases, which means that people's wages, allowances and pensions have increased." However, many protesters argue that while the automatic wage index method guarantees that people's wages will increase as the price index rises, soaring prices have severely weakened people's purchasing power.
In recent months, belgium has seen frequent demonstrations against soaring prices, and Jan-Piet Bauwens, vice chairman of the country's socialist union, said that the economic situation of many families has continued to deteriorate, some have complained that they have to choose between eating enough to fill their cars with fuel, "many people drive hundreds of kilometers a day to work, we have heard that some people have had to spend the night in the company to save fuel money." After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, international crude oil prices continued to rise, including Italy, Spain, Belgium and other European countries recently oil prices are hovering around 2 euros (about 14 yuan) / liter.
According to Reuters, the pilots and crew of Brussels Airlines are expected to go on strike for three consecutive days from the 23rd to the 25th to protest the soaring prices in the country, after the group issued an unrestricted strike notice.
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