The demonstrators wanted better protection for children and a better functioning justice system that could investigate the Dutroux affair independently.
In subsequent days, the dead bodies of four other kidnapped girls were found buried in various properties that Dutroux had owned.
At first, the anger amongst the Belgian people was directed mainly at Dutroux himself, but it quickly targeted the police, the justice department and the politicians as well.
The mistrust of the police, justice department and politicians increased when the popular investigating magistrate Jean-Marc Connerotte, who had been collecting evidence against Dutroux, was accused of bias after attending a charity event for the victims' parents and dismissed from the case.
[citation needed] With the demonstration, the Belgian public opinion wanted to indicate something had to change in Belgium and that the justice system and the police had to show more attention to children.