LETTER FROM BENELUX

From his spacious, light-filled office on the ninth floor of a modern building, Julien Moinil can see Brussels' Palace of Justice, a monumental work spanning 26,000 square meters, with a 1-kilometer-long facade. His office provides a stunning view of the Belgian capital. He might lose himself in contemplation of architect Joseph Poelaert's (1817–1879) extravagant yet crumbling masterpiece, and perhaps even find some charm in the city – if he didn't have more pressing concerns.

Appointed in January 2024, after the position of Brussels' public prosecutor had been vacant for four years due to the usual political and linguistic squabbles, the former magistrate specializing in serious crime has set himself two goals: to put the country's largest public prosecutor's office back on its feet, and to restore order to a city which he has no hesitation in saying is now "ravaged by crime, with metastases everywhere."

The new public prosecutor had barely been appointed when a fresh wave of violence erupted in the city, which had already witnessed around a hundred violent incidents in 2024, resulting in nine deaths and dozens of injuries. At the beginning of February, images of two young men wearing hoodies and opening fire with a Kalashnikov as they emerged from Clémenceau metro station in Anderlecht, were seen around the world. It marked the start of a series of gangland reprisals, with more deaths and injuries, over control of drug-dealing spots in Anderlecht, Saint-Gilles, Forest and Saint-Josse.

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