Protest march in Brussels against high energy prices and physical poverty (Brussels)
The citizens’ collective Trop Is Too Veel held a national bet in Brussels today against high energy prices and the greater number of people ending up in poverty. With a protest march they call for measures to prevent the middle class from falling into poverty.
Source: BELGA
It is the first time that the new citizen collective Trop Is Too Much shields an action. In the meantime, they received visible support from, among others, the trade unions ABVV-BBTK and ACV Puls, Hart Boven Hard, Extinction Rebellion and the PVDA party. The supporters of the far-left party were abundantly present in the march. According to the police, about 700 demonstrators were present. The organization itself speaks of 1,000 participants.
During the march, the demonstrators pause to hear and read their displeasure. With slogans such as “Everything but our wages”, “freeze the prices, not the people”, “strong public services ensure our prosperity” and “we do not pay”, it is clear that they expect more support from the government.
The citizens’ collective is convinced that today more working people and retirees, who have worked all their lives, are lining up at food banks. They see more and more children going to school with an empty lunch box and student rooms are becoming unaffordable because the energy bill is included in the rent. These high heating costs force theaters to cancel existing performances and a cultural trip becomes impossible.
“Together is the only way out of the crisis, because together we are still stronger than big business. Perverse profits are being made and we have to sit out in the cold,” said Charissa Parassiadis, co-founder of Trop Is Too Much and better known as singer Slongs. “My neighbor has worked for 40 years, but she doesn’t dare turn on her heating. How can you justify that? I thought that the state and the people’s representatives defend our interests. And not that of the big capitalists.”
At Trop Is Too Much, they put five demands on the table to get out of the current crisis. The prices of gas and electricity must fall for families, schools, cultural centers and traders, the excess profits of energy companies must be taxed, the energy sector must be taken over by the government, affordable renting and housing must be made possible and, finally, the the super-rich contribute more.