Belgians’ reaction to terrorism is halfway between hysteria and resignation

The atmosphere in Brussels is funereal. The Christmas lights are up but the pretty Christmas market stalls are all shut tight. The streets are almost empty and even the police sirens of the past week are silent.

Half way between hysteria and resignation, the Belgians reacted with their trademark surrealism - with thousands and thousands of photographs of cats.

Asked by the police to maintain silence on their operations on social media, suddenly the space was filled with hilarious antics of cats - giving themselves up, jumping out of boxes, walking around menacingly, sporting guns and clubs, every size, every colour.