Mr Mayeur had come under tremendous pressure to resign in recent days. He was attacked by the Prime Minister of Brussels, Rudi Vervoort, a fellow Francophone socialist, and his Flemish socialist coalition partners threatened to quit the coalition in the City if he stayed on. The matter was also hotly debated in the federal parliament this afternoon.

The generous fees that Mr Mayeur received for attending Samusocial meetings were funded by gifts from the general public intended for the homeless. Some of the meetings he was paid for did not even take place. In the course of the day Mr Mayeur spoke with his partyleadership that now seems to have cut him adrift.

Mr Mayeur has been the Mayor of the City of Brussels since 2013.