Rollerblading in Brussels and Mons

■ The Belgium Rollers Summer Tour has launched. There were 2,000 in Brussels on Friday and about a hundred in Mons on Saturday BRUSSELS ∇ Two thousand people! Things are off to a smooth start for the Belgium Rollers Summer Tour, inaugurated on Friday in Brussels. The Roller Parade, which rolled out from 8 p.m. to midnight through the streets of the capital – a loop completed from the carrefour des Attelages, in the bois de la Cambre – was packed with participants and went off without incident. Only six injuries were recorded. The cause: falls! Care was provided on site by the Red Cross. The parade was escorted by 15 roller-cops. A quiet first edition In Mons, some 21 police officers escorted the parade. Yet, only about a hundred participants gathered on Saturday on the Grand-Place for the first departure organized in the Cité du Doudou. The atmosphere was therefore rather family-friendly. Even complete beginners did not hesitate to join the celebration and the enthusiasts. Among them, Olivia, 32: "This is my second roller parade," she highlights, clinging to passers-by she meets. "I come for fun!" She nevertheless struggled to finish the fifteen kilometers covered during the evening. The stroll was indeed shortened so as not to end too late. Setting off around 9 p.m., participants returned to the Grand-Place around 11 p.m. Some preferred to follow on mountain bikes. Another way to discover Mons and its region. The most tired did not hesitate to board the bus that Tec Hainaut had provided for the organizers and the city. Four paramedics also followed the route. They didn't have much work. The repeated falls caused no injuries. Helmets, knee pads, and elbow pads cushioned the impacts. All summer long, the Cité du Doudou will host the Roller Tour on Saturdays. As a reminder, it passes through Bruxelles (Fridays), Hasselt (Mondays), Namur (Tuesdays), Gand (Wednesdays except July 23 and 30), Liège (Thursdays), and Coxyde (Sundays July 13 and 20, and August 10 and 24).