Fries with that? Protesters throw chips and mayo at Belgian prime minister
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Version 0 of 1. The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, has been bombarded with french fries and squirted with mayonnaise by anti-austerity activists. “Michel out, austerity out,” cried the four activists as the 38-year-old was beginning a speech on Monday in the southern city of Namur, according to several reporters. French fries with mayonnaise are a Belgian speciality. The protesters were swiftly tackled by security guards as Michel looked on, smiling in a mayonnaise-stained suit. After the incident, he restarted his speech apologising for smelling of mayonnaise. The 39-year-old leader, who took office in October, leads a coalition that intends to raise the retirement age in Belgium to 67, scrap plans for a usually automatic cost-of-living raise next year and cut public-sector spending. The plans sparked several rounds of strikes and demonstrations in the past weeks, including a march of more than 100,000 people in Brussels, which ended in violent protests that left dozens of police officers injured. Food-related protests are a Belgian speciality. In recent years, some of the world’s most powerful leaders, including the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates, have received a custard pie in the face while on visits to the country. |