Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On October 14, 2025, in Brussels, masked protesters vandalized the Immigration Office, Hilton, and party HQs. Classe Contre Classe and Secours Rouge denied involvement; authorities are scrutinizing Bertrand Sassoye, ex-CCC member.
As VRT News reported, on October 14, Brussels saw violent incidents during a national day of action organized by trade unions. The protest aimed to oppose policies of the Arizona government. Masked protesters vandalized the Immigration Office, a Hilton hotel, and the party headquarters of Vooruit and the PS.
Police are still investigating who was responsible for the attacks. Some media outlets have suggested links to radical figures. The far-left movements Classe Contre Classe and Secours Rouge have denied any involvement. They said the riots were not planned or influenced by their organizations. The unrest raised questions about who led the violence and how it escalated during a union demonstration.
What role did Bertrand Sassoye and Far-Left groups play in Brussels riots?
Authorities are also looking at Bertrand Sassoye, a figure with a long history in far-left activism. In the 1980s, he was part of the Combatant Communist Cells (CCC), a secret group that carried out terrorist attacks which killed 2 people. Sassoye was convicted for his role in these attacks. After serving his sentence, he continued to follow far-left beliefs.
He later wrote a manifesto that helped create Classe Contre Classe. There is no proof that he or his group were involved in the October 14 riots. Still, his past activities and ongoing influence in radical circles have drawn attention. Authorities are continuing their investigation into the violence.
“We find it funny that the media thinks they know Sassoye is leading us. Where do you even get that idea?”
one of the activists said.
Classe Contre Classe, along with the radical left-wing group Secours Rouge, has denied any involvement in organizing the riots during the national day of action. Classe Contre Classe said reports linking it to the violence were part of “a fierce media campaign” based on information from police sources.
The group added that the story had been “exaggerated to the point of ridiculousness” and suggested it was being used to distract from systemic issues that cause public frustration. The organization emphasized it played no role in planning or encouraging the unrest.
Secours Rouge also rejected claims that it had orchestrated the disturbances. The group noted that it ran a live feed during the demonstration to keep activists informed about what was happening on the ground. This, the group said, showed their role was only observation and communication, not coordination or incitement.
But according to the organization,
“the purpose of this live feed is to provide information about situations during demonstrations that could lead to repression.”
“Secours Rouge has been doing this since at least 2014 without attracting any attention,”
it said
Classe Contre Classe is an extreme leftist group in Belgium that was founded in the early 2000s by former members of Combatant Communist Cells (CCC), which was active during the 1980s and was focused on bombings against government buildings and economic establishments with the intention of disrupting the capitalist system, and whose members attracted attention from law enforcement, including Bertrand Sassoye, who was arrested and sentenced to imprisonment.
After Sassoye’s release, he again endorsed revolutionary socialism, including helping found the group known as Classe Contre Classe, and it has a focus on political activism, social movements, and solidarity campaigns rather than direct violent actions.
Secours Rouge, or Red Aid, is the organization out of Belgium, but is an international organization founded as a Repressive Support in the 1970s to provide support to political prisoners and activists being repressed. Over the decades, it has organized demonstrations, legal assistance, and solidarity campaigns while working with other left-wing groups across Europe.
