Bruges Council Wants Vlaams Belang Member Removed Over Residency Dispute

Bruges city officials are seeking to remove municipal council member Marie Laeremans from her post, asserting that she no longer resides within the city limits. Mayor Dirk De fauw stated that multiple police checks have led the city to officially remove her from the population register.

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I fell completely out of the blue. I am on vacation. I had to find out through the press.

Laeremans, who has served as a council member since October 2024, denies these claims. She maintains that she lives above the hospitality business she operates in the city center of Bruges. The city administration's decision to remove her from the register, based on the police checks where she was reportedly always absent, means she risks losing her mandate.

Mayor De fauw explained that Laeremans has 30 days to appeal the decision in Brussels. If she does not appeal, it would imply an admission that she was wrongly registered, automatically triggering a procedure for the municipal council to determine if she still meets the requirements to serve. Laeremans has indicated her intention to appeal, calling the decision a "personal vendetta" and stating she learned about it through the press while on vacation.

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I still live above the hospitality business that I operate in the city center of Bruges. Nothing has changed about that. Of course, I will contest this decision. This really feels like a personal vendetta.

She insists her living situation above her business has not changed. The mayor noted that such removals from the register occur monthly when individuals move without updating their address. However, he stated he has no specific insight into the details of Laeremans's case, beyond the fact that multiple checks indicated her absence from her registered address.

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The neighborhood officer bases this on statements from neighbors or on external characteristics such as shutters that remain down or a door full of cobwebs.