Belgian police arrested about 400 protesters during a demonstration on Saturday in the Belgian capital Brussels.

Iran press/Europe: Belgian police fired tear gas and water cannon on Saturday in Brussels after a clash broke out between the protesters and police forces.

The protest in Brussels happened after a copycat "yellow vest" demonstration rocked neighbouring France, Iran press reported.

Young protesters blocked a highway linking Brussels to the town of Rekkem in Flanders, near the French border.

They also put up a barricade by the Franco-Belgian border close to Adinkerque.

On Dec. 08, Riot police clashed on Saturday with protesters in Paris who are hitting another weekend of rally against French President Emmanuel Macron.

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Brussels police spokeswoman Ilse Van De Keere said: "The protesters had hurled projectiles and paving stones. There has been a certain amount of damage. The situation was now back to normal. About a thousand people took part in the rally and the police had to resort to teargas and water cannon to break up the demonstration."

The area housing European institutions including the offices of the European Commission and the European Parliament was sealed off as a precautionary measure.

The "yellow vest" movement in France started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has since morphed into a mass protest against President Emmanuel Macron's policies and top-down style of governing.

It has spilled over to some other countries, including Belgium and especially in the country's French-speaking region.

Last week, the unrest peaked again in France, resulting in over 400 arrests, and about 600 people were also injured during the heavy-handed police response. 

The French government said for now it has abandoned the plans for fuel price hikes and a higher tax, which triggered the rallies.

French president threatened "severe" action against protesters. 

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