A majority of the Belgian population supports the presence of soldiers on the streets of the country’s major cities in order to strengthen public safety – according to a national opinion poll published on Tuesday and reported by the public broadcaster RTBF.
According to the survey, 64 percent of respondents approve of soldiers patrolling in Brussels, Antwerp and other large cities, even though 77 percent said they feel safe in their own neighbourhood without them.
69 percent of those surveyed would support giving soldiers police powers – such as the right to stop and search individuals and make arrests.
Significant differences appear according to political preference: 82 percent of Vlaams Belang voters, 79 percent of MR supporters and 75 percent of N-VA sympathisers back the deployment of troops. Among PTB voters the figure is 54 percent, while among Greens it is 46 percent.
The initiative comes from Interior Minister Bernard Quintin, who plans to redeploy soldiers to the streets from April 2026. The proposal is also supported by Defence Minister Theo Francken, who is additionally calling for the introduction of voluntary military service for 17-year-olds.
