Anti-immigration demonstration in The Hague turns violent, weeks before general election

Published on 20/09/2025 - 21:17 GMT+2

Right-wing protesters fought pinch riot constabulary successful The Hague connected Saturday, arsenic an anti-immigration objection attended by hundreds of group turned violent.

Rioters, galore wearing achromatic and waving Dutch flags and flags associated pinch far-right groups, threw stones and bottles astatine nan constabulary and group 1 of their patrol vehicles connected fire. The police, successful return, utilized tear state and a h2o cannon to disperse nan crowd.

Protesters besides concisely blocked nan road and vandalised nan agency of centre-left governmental party, D66, smashing respective windows, section media reported.

“Scum. You support your hands disconnected governmental parties,” the party's leader Rob Jetten wrote connected X. “If you deliberation you tin intimidate us, reliable luck. We will ne'er fto our beautiful state beryllium taken distant by extremist rioters."

“Shocking and bizarre images of shameless unit successful The Hague,” caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof wrote connected X, calling nan attacks connected constabulary and nan D66 agency “completely unacceptable” and expressed assurance that constabulary and prosecutors would apprehend and prosecute nan perpetrators.

"There is ever room for demonstrations, ne'er for violence," he concluded.

Hundreds had gathered astatine nan Malieveld successful The Hague connected Saturday aft a young woman, known arsenic "Els Rechts" (translates to "Els Right"), issued a telephone connected societal media to protestation against migration and request stricter asylum laws.

Following nan clashes, "Els Rechts" quickly denounced nan unit that had erupted.

"I assumed that group came to show peacefully, but unfortunately, for immoderate reason, it turned retired very differently," she wrote connected X, adding that she would not person organised nan objection if she had known its outcome.

The protestation comes weeks earlier nan Netherlands is group to clasp a threat predetermination connected 29 October, aft nan country's ruling authorities collapsed erstwhile far-right Party For Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders withdrew his ministers complete disagreements connected migration policy.

Wilders, who had declined an invitation to speak astatine nan demonstration, condemned nan unit arsenic "unacceptable".