"Jordan Bardella's RN is a party like no other: it is a far-right party."
Police used water canons and arrested 40 protestors at a demonstration against the far-right French MEP Jordan Bardella on Wednesday evening. Bardella is leader of the far-right French party National Rally (RN) and was elected to the European Parliament in June. He was expected at the House of Hungary at 18:30 on Wednesday evening for a talk and a signing of his first book Ce que je cherche ('What I am looking for'). Almost 1,000 protestors led by the Anti-Fascist Coordination of Belgium (CAB), the Popular University of Brussels, the Ades Network and the Anti-Fascist Front of Liège gathered at the intersection of Avenue des Arts and Rue de la Loi from 18:00. "The extreme right kills," read the sign of one protester. At around 18:30, some demonstrators attempted to breach the police barrier, prompting officers to use batons, tear gas and water cannons on the crowd. Some protesters responded by setting off firecrackers and fireworks. Manuel Abramowic, an antifascist activist and editor of the online magazine Résistances, was at the demonstration. "Jordan Bardella's RN is a party like no other," he told The Brussels Times. "It is a far-right party. Bardella has received excellent media training to appear relatable to young voters, and people end up voting for RN without knowing it is the far-right as a result."
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It's telling that the French Bardella chose to go to Flanders and not Wallonia, despite French being spoken there. It's almost as if there aren't enough fascists in Wallonia. Furthermore, it's weird since traditionally the Flemish refuse to learn French and the Walloons refuse to learn Flemish (Dutch). Note the name of the Anti-Fascist Coordination of Belgium (CAB, Coordination Antifascist Belgique, presumably), and the magazine Résistances are both French, and a distinct lack of Flemish antifascists.