In this clip, the police fire water cannons and tear gas in a park in Brussels, Belgium, on Saturday (May 1), to break up an illegal party.

The event took place in defiance of the restrictions imposed by the government to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Several hundred people participated to protest against coronavirus restrictions.

This footage was filmed and produced 1 May 2021.
Police fired water cannon and tear gas in a Brussels park on Saturday to break up an anti-lockdown party of several hundred people designed to defy coronavirus social distancing rules.

The crowd of mostly young people responded to a post on Facebook announcing the unauthorised party. It took place a month after police cleared 2,000 people who gathered in the same Bois de la Cambre park for la Boum (the party), an event that had begun as an April Fool's joke.

The follow-up Boum 2 event on May 1, a traditional day for demonstrations, was held a week before the Belgian government allows cafe and bar terraces to open and lets groups of more than four people meet outside in a relaxation of COVID-19 rules.