Geert Wilders holding a can of the ‘pepper spray’ (Picture: AP)

Far right politician Geert Wilders has been dividing opinion again, this time by handing out fake pepper spray.

Wilders has seen his popularity soar on the back of the refugee debate and he’s got his eyes on the top seat, hoping to become the Netherlands next Prime Minister.

Yesterday, he went to Spijkenisse to speak about his message on the ‘Islamic invasion’.

He also handed out fake pepper spray. Pepper spray is illegal in the Netherlands, so they were filled with red paint instead.


He says women should be able to protect themselves against ‘Islamic testosterone bombs’ (Picture: EPA)

As he handed it out he said: ‘We must close the borders.’

Women should be allowed to carry pepper spray, he said, to protect themselves against what he termed ‘Islamic testosterone bombs.’



But his radical rhetoric drew a counter demonstration from a few dozen women protesters who shouted out: ‘Wilders is racist, no feminist.’

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Wilders hopes to become the next prime minister of the Netherlands (Picture: Getty)

About 10 women were arrested at the protest, Dutch media said.

The Netherlands, a country of 17 million people, took in record numbers of asylum-seekers in 2015. About 54,000 of the one million refugees, who have travelled into Europe from the Middle East and Africa, have been registered here.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned this week the EU has only about two months to tackle the crisis before a new spike in refugees in the spring.

‘Let me be clear: the current numbers aren’t sustainable. We are running out of time. We need a sharp reduction in the coming six to eight weeks,’ Rutte told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France on Wednesday.

Tensions have been simmering across the Netherlands as the government has sought to work with local provinces to find shelter for the thousands of refugees.

Protests in some towns against planned refugee centres have flared into full-scale riots leading to arrests and some damage.

The Dutch daily Trouw Saturday said a leaked report had warned the number of refugees could hit 93,000 this year.

With Rutte’s ruling coalition under strain, the Trouw reported the cabinet was planning to meet with local provinces next month to draw up a plan for housing the newcomers.

Elections are not due until 2017, but according to a poll collated by national broadcaster NOS if they were held today Wilders’s PVV could grab 36 seats – enough to put it in the driving seat for coalition talks.