Saturday school, tunnel raves and giant ducks: Which April Fools' headlines were in fact real?

News outlets in Belgium ran a number of joke headlines in keeping with April Fools tradition but, as Belgium excels in surrealism, other news stories that seemed to be part of the gag were, in fact, real.

La Libre announced that French-speakers would have to go to school on Saturday mornings - a genuine April Fool - while La Dernière Heure reported that the Red Devils' new sky-blue jersey with a collar in homage to Tintin had been rejected, and that the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) was turning to a kit in the colours of Gaston Lagaffe – also a gag.

La Libre Belgique reported that education minister Caroline Désir issued a statement calling for Saturday mornings to be made compulsory following the dismal results of Belgian pupils in the Pisa international surveys.

“By offering students four extra hours of lessons on Saturday mornings, I'm certainly depriving them of a lie-in, but tomorrow, I know, they'll thank me,” La Libre claimed that education minister Caroline Désir said in a statement.

And DH’s joke reports of a jersey swap comes after a wave of criticism of the new Tintin shirt.

L'Avenir wrote that Spa and Durbuy are merging to create the town of 'Spabuy', with a tunnel linking the two towns on a permanent basis and a new name for the inhabitants: 'Sparsadurobodion'.

But - this being Belgium - other news stories on 1 April that would pass for an April Fool anywhere else were true.

Reports of an underground rave organised in the road tunnels beneath Place Louise - and a campaign to turn the tunnels into cultural spaces - were true.

“The Brussels tunnels were built to accommodate the 1958 Universal Exhibition, at a time when the car reigned supreme,” organiser Lorenzo Serra explained.

“Since then, the role of the car in the city has been called into question, especially in recent years. Our main aim in taking over the tunnels is to raise the question with the public: what should we do with them in the years to come?”

Serra said the tunnels should be abandoned to reduce car pressure, being transformed instead into cultural places that, given their “large amount of available surface area, and being located underground, would make it possible to organise exhibitions, art installations and parties without disturbing residents with noise”.

Called the Listen Festival, it was held on Sunday at reduced capacity following a last-minute decision from authorities.

Also real were reports of giant ducks in the Fish Market basins on the Quais aux Briques and Quai aux Bois à Brûler in central Brussels.

The art installation of five enormous ducks will be on display until September as part of a project to enhance the shopping districts.

“This project is part of a drive to enhance the value of shopping districts, while respecting the peace and quiet of local residents,” explained Fabian Maingain, alderman for economic affairs in Brussels.

“It's a great opportunity to discover this historic city centre landmark in a fun way, with friends or family, while taking advantage of the range of catering establishments and other shops in the vicinity.”