“There is an atmosphere of impunity. You don’t solve that with a tank or a gun”: Brussels divided on deployment of soldiers in problem neighborhoods

Where children until recently played on the square at the Clemenceau metro station, there have been crush barriers for months now. They have to put off drug dealers and stop shootings, but that seems to have little effect. Minister of the Interior Bernard Quintin (MR) now wants to have soldiers patrol, just like in other problem neighborhoods. The plan distributes the city. Some see it as much needed support for the police, for others it is a sign that Brussels will be a war zone. “Nobody wants soldiers at the door,” says local resident Tina Schuermans (33). “But if that reduces safety, then it might have to be.”

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