Belgians Strip to Protest Government Deadlock

The sex strike didn't work, and Belgians remain frustrated. The country is still without a government and, as of yesterday, lawmakers had been bickering over forming a coalition for a world record-setting 249 days, the Telegraph reports. Protests have been becoming ever more creative, with people growing long beards, dressing up as French fries and, in one city yesterday, stripping to their underwear.

The stripped-down protesters, downing shots of gin to keep warm, stood to form the word "unity." There's "an expression in Dutch to be naked and meaning to make a fool of oneself. Nothing has happened, the politicians have negotiated for 249 days and it is still a stalemate so they are making fools of themselves," said a protest organizer. In other cities, activists calling for a "fries revolution" handed out free fries and beer. (More Belgium stories.)