The Dutch police deployed water cannon to disperse anti-immigration demonstrators in The Hague after some protesters began throwing bottles and rocks at police officers.

A spokesperson for the local government of the capital city of the South Holland province said on Saturday that those targeted by water cannon had split from the main demonstration to block a highway.

Held about a month before the national elections, the demonstration was organised by right-wing activist Els Rechts, who campaigns against asylum seekers and for fairer housing policies in the Netherlands.

[Translation: Tear gas deployed at Elsfest on the Malieveld.]

According to the Dutch media, thousands of people joined the protest, which also saw at least one police car set on fire.

The leader of the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), Geert Wilders, was also invited to the protest by Rechts but chose not to attend, he said in a post on X.

He condemned the violence, saying, “Blocking the highway and using force against the police is completely, utterly unacceptable.”

Dutch voters will head to the polls on October 29 in snap elections triggered by the dramatic collapse of the right-wing governing coalition.

In June, Wilders announced the withdrawal of his party from the 11-month-old right-wing Netherlands coalition government led by former Prime Minister Dick Schoof.

Wilders said the other three parties in the coalition had failed to back his plans to crack down on asylum for refugees.