– I have been a resident of Europe for 24 years and for the first time, I have seen this protest and clashes of around 120,000 union leaders, professionals, students, factory and shop workers coming from all over Belgium converging in the center of Brussels, the very heart of Europe.  It was only the first in a series of demonstrations and strikes planned over coming weeks. The plan is to stage a series of regional strikes every Monday starting 24 November, culminating in a national strike on 15 December.