Skip to Main Content
Belgians tweet cat pics in following orders not to reveal police action
Trending

Belgians tweet cat pics in following orders not to reveal police action

Police have asked Brussels residents not to tweet or post about ongoing police raids, but they didn't say anything about cat photos.

With a lockdown limiting their options, people turned to an internet staple: feline photos

CBC News ·
The photos Belgians used to comment on the lockdown in Brussels occasionally mention Belgian surrealism, an art movement with which the country has a rich history. (womfleming/Twitter Jaycelight/Twitter)

As Brussels residents enter their third day under lockdown, Belgian police have asked them not to tweet about any police action they see in the streets or near their homes.

(Belgium Federal Police)
​

But with the subway and schools closed, it limits people's options on things they can tweet. So the internet settled on what it knows best: cat photos. People flooded #BrusselsLockdown hashtag with cats following the rules, cats getting a little in over their heads or cats just being commonly cute felines. 

Many of the photos were in solidarity of the raids from those experiencing the lockdown first-hand. 

More showed cats misbehaving

The photos occasionally mention Belgian surrealism, an art movement with which the country has a rich history. Belgian artist René Magritte painted The Trechery of Images — a smoking pipe with the words "This is not a pipe" in French.

Still, maybe some of these cats got in over their heads.

A contingent of the cats had seemingly joined up with an empire from a galaxy far, far away.

Some of the cats went on raids of their own.

Over the weekend, authorities arrested 21 people after police ran 19 raids. As the raids continue into today, the Canadian government said its embassy will be closed until further notice. The police and troops remain on the streets of the Belgian capital in search of one or more suspected extremists, including Salah Abdeslam, who has been named a suspect in the Paris attacks. 

So people and cats for the most part have been trying to relax.

(Unless they're dog people.)

And show a little support for the country in which they reside and the surrealism that inspired them.

​

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC News
Report Typo or Error|

Related Stories

Comments

To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted.

By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.