Police were obliged to disperse a crowd of about 1,000 people, who had gathered at the Atomium in Brussels last night. Brussels police say the crowd had gathered following an appeal by 2 French influencers, who said they were going to hand out gifts. Police eventually used water cannon to scatter the crowd.
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Police use water cannon to disperse crowd at Atomium gathered in response to French influencers
Colin Clapson
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It was around 6.30pm when about 1,000 people had congregated at the Atomium in Brussels last night, police say. They were responding to French influencers, who were set to arrive at 7pm by coach and had announced they would hand out gifts.
‘While waiting, some of those present set off fireworks, both horizontal and vertical fireworks. Some of the fireworks were targeted at the police,’ police spokesperson Ilse Van de Keere explained. Images on social media show that influencers too set off fireworks.
When the coach arrived, the crowd gathered around. ‘The atmosphere became tense, with people demanding to be handed out gifts and threats to property,’ Van de Keere said.
‘The police tried to let the bus leave safely, but the crowd followed the vehicle towards the Houba de Strooperlaan. To control the situation and clear the road, water cannon was deployed.’
According to the police, calm was re-established around 8pm. Nobody was injured and there are no reports of damage.
Well-known French influencers cause disruption
Images on social media showed that influencers Hachemi (HMI) and IbraTV were involved. The social media stars have millions of followers on Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Last weekend, their bus also reportedly stopped in Lille (France) also to hand out gifts. There too, hundreds of people turned up and the police had to intervene.
