Vlaams Belang balloons disrupt Belgian parliamentary session

A stunt by the far-right Vlaams Belang party briefly halted a plenary session in Belgium's Chamber of Representatives on Thursday. The party released helium-filled balloons bearing anti-immigration slogans, including "Stop het omvolkings pact" (Stop the great replacement), into the hemicycle. The balloons, which floated to the ceiling, were attached to posters of the Vlaams Belang party.

The action was claimed by the youth wing of Vlaams Belang following a lengthy debate on a bill transposing the European Migration Pact. The MR party denounced the incident as a "hostage-taking" of the interior commission by Vlaams Belang.

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Normally, the session cannot take place if there are slogan displays, etc. The question was whether we could remove them easily and since the answer was no, we decided to act as if nothing had happened.

Despite the disruption, debates resumed quickly, with the balloons remaining stuck to the ceiling. A lawmaker described the situation, noting that sessions are typically not held if slogans are displayed. However, due to the difficulty of removing the balloons, the decision was made to proceed as if nothing had happened. The Speaker of the Chamber, Peter De Roover, reportedly prioritized continuing the parliamentary debate over a lengthy removal process.

This media stunt is expected to have consequences. Another assembly member confirmed the issue would be raised in the conference of parliamentary group leaders to explore potential sanctions against the far-right party.

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The Speaker of the Chamber said what he thought about it: he preferred the parliamentary debate to take place rather than having a whole circus to remove them beforehand.