Seven months after the June elections, Belgium is still without a government as coalition talks drag on between the country's different political parties and linguistic groups.
Belgium, the country that hosts the EU institutions, has been governed by an interim cabinet for over 200 days.
The country's political class has been divided over a linguistic dispute between the Dutch-speaking half of the country and poorer French-speaking Wallonia in the south.
"What do we want? We want a government," said protesters, mainly young people, some of whom were wearing jumpsuits in what they had dubbed the 'March of Shame'.
One of the event's organisers, 23-year-old graphic designer Simon Vandereecken, hailed the march as a success "that exceeded our hopes".
The organisers, a group of both Dutch and French-speaking students who met in cyberspace, said they did not understand the intricacies of the government negotiations, which are bogged down in details over state reforms involving greater transfers of power to the country's constituent regions and their financing.
But they said the marchers had proved that determination existed to "live in common".
"We are living in a country at the heart of Europe in a world that is moving fast,"said the organisers, who were speaking in French, Dutch and German.
"At a time when globalisation is spreading, our politicians are no longer able to open their eyes to make decisions or to swallow their pride," they added.
According to an opinion poll by French-speaking newspaper Le Soir and Dedicated Research, the protesters mainly came from Brussels (44%) and Wallonia (35%), while Flemish people represented 21% of the total.
The protesters came mainly to express their support for a united Belgium (16%) while 15% said they came to call for the rapid formation of a new government. 13% came to express their frustration at the political class generally speaking, according to the poll.
Tim Ost, a 34-year-old designer taking part in the march, told RFI radio he was fed up with the way politicians have been divisive. "In the meantime the socio-economic problems don't get solved. We are all losing - all Belgians are losing."
"There isn't really trouble between the people - it's more between the politicians."
The students, who organised the march using social networking site Facebook, originally launched the call for a march on the website www.230111.be.
