Over the past few days, eight schools in the French-speaking Belgian region of Wallonia have fallen victim to arson attacks and vandalism. At least six of these incidents have been linked to a
campaign initiated by radical religious groups, including Muslims and Catholics, as well as extremist and conspiracy movements. Their target is the educational program on emotional and sexual relationships (EVRAS), promoted by the French-speaking Minister of Education, Caroline Désir, who represents the Parti Socialiste.
Désir, condemning these actions as "inadmissible acts of terrorism," visited one of the burned schools near Charleroi on Friday, September 15.
Despite her condemnation, approximately 1,500 individuals gathered in central Brussels on Sunday under the slogan "Touchez pas à nos enfants!" ("Don't touch our children!"). The atmosphere was tense, with Muslim activist Radya Oulebsir and traditionalist Catholic leader Alain Escada, both self-proclaimed organizers of the protest, demanding an end to the EVRAS program.
The perpetrators of these attacks had spray-painted hostile slogans such as "No EVRAS, sinon les prochains, c’est vous" ("No EVRAS, otherwise you're next") on several vandalized buildings.
On Friday, the Belgian National Crisis Center announced that anti-terrorism and intelligence services were closely monitoring the situation. Photo by Jmh2o, Wikimedia commons.