Brussels Municipality Bans Dinner With French Right-Wing Politician
In a video message, Rassemblement National politician Florian Philippot criticised the ban on the dinner meeting in the capital of Belgium, describing it as “the country of surrealism.”
French politician, president of the Les Patriotes movement Florian Philippot looks on in front of France´s National Assembly during a demonstration of French agricultural union Coordination Rurale (CR) on January 8, 2026.
THOMAS SAMSON / AFP
In a video message, Rassemblement National politician Florian Philippot criticised the ban on the dinner meeting in the capital of Belgium, describing it as “the country of surrealism.”
A planned dinner meeting featuring French right-wing Les Patriotes politician Florian Philippot was banned by the municipality of Watermael-Boitsfort in Brussels.
The event, scheduled for Wednesday evening at the Trois Tilleuls sports park, was expected to host around 150 attendees. The mayor of Watermael-Boitsfort, David Leisterh, however, decided to prohibit the gathering shortly before it was due to take place.
“I informed the organisers that I forbade the event due to the risk of public order disturbances,” Leisterh said. He also stated that the event had not been properly authorised and that the venue was too small for the expected number of participants.
Although the dinner was cancelled, Philippot, a former deputy to Marine Le Pen known for his eurosceptic views, remained at the site and spoke with several people who had been turned away. In a video message, he strongly criticised the decision, saying: “We’re in the country of surrealism. They’ve blocked us because this is the city of NATO and the European Union, institutions my party opposes. This is emblematic of our descent into dictatorship.”
INÉDIT ET RÉVÉLATEUR ! ⤵️
Ce soir, sous pression de l’UE, un bourgmestre (maire) de Bruxelles vient d’interdire par arrêté municipal un dîner qu’on devait tenir ce soir dans un restaurant de la ville ! 🤦🏻♂️
Du jamais vu ! Purement délirant…RIP la liberté d’expression.
Participants who had travelled from cities including Liège, Charleroi, and Ciney said they did not understand the decision. One attendee explained that they had come simply “to discuss Florian Philippot’s ideas” and saw no reason for the meeting to be stopped. According to reports, around ten police officers were deployed to secure the area and prevent access to the venue.
The ban has reignited debate in Brussels over freedom of speech in the European capital. Bob De Brabandere of the right-wing Vlaams Belang party, took to X, writing,
Lots of whining about Orbán, but in Brussels, you’re not allowed to go eat with whoever you want
adding “When I recently wanted to ask a question about the threat to freedom of speech in Brussels to Boris Dilliès it was declared inadmissible by the services of the Brussels Parliament. Ridicule doesn’t kill, right?”
This is not the first time political gatherings linked to right-wing or conservative movements face disruption in the Belgian capital. In 2024, the National Conservatism Conference (NatCon) in Brussels was temporarily challenged by authorities and faced significant pressure before a court overturned attempts to shut it down.
