VIDEO Tens of thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets to demand the resignation of the government: “Leave! We are fed up”

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated again on Wednesday evening in Sofia and other Bulgarian cities to demand the resignation of the government, amid anger that crystallizes around the 2026 budget, AFP, Reuters and Agerpres agencies report.

For the third time in three weeks, demonstrators gathered in Independence Square, in front of the parliament in Sofia, chanting “Resign!” and carrying signs reading “I'm fed up!” and “Go away!”.

“I am here because corruption is everywhere. The situation is intolerable. Most of my friends no longer live in Bulgaria and will not return,” said Ghergana Ghelkova, 24, a trader, quoted by AFP. “The vermin must be put out of power,” she demanded.

The wave of discontent, with an important presence of young people, began at the end of November, when the government tried to fast-track the 2026 budget, the first drawn up in the euro currency, which Bulgaria will introduce on January 1 instead of the national leva.

Under pressure from the streets, the government on December 3 withdrew the draft budget, which had included increases in taxes and social security contributions, increases that protesters and the opposition say are designed to hide embezzlement.

A new draft budget was presented to parliament earlier this week.

#protest #protest
December 10, 2025 – Tens of thousands of Bulgarians are protesting in Sofia against the government
Източник: видео на живо от “Produlzhavame Change” pic.twitter.com/NDumGChnVq

— Kalendar News (@KalendarNews) December 10, 2025

“We will enter the euro zone without a government”

In addition to the government, a target of the protesters was former media magnate Delian Peevski, accused by the opposition of exerting occult influence over the media, justice and security services.

Peevski, sanctioned by the US and Great Britain for corruption, leads the party that represents the Turkish minority and part of the Roma, and which guarantees the government a parliamentary majority.

Parliament will vote on Thursday on a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Rosen Zheleznikov's minority government, the sixth since the executive was installed on January 15.

According to Bulgaria's BTA agency, Boiko Borisov, former prime minister and leader of the GERB party, said the ruling coalition partners had agreed not to resign before Bulgaria's entry into the euro zone on January 1.

However, Asen Vasiliev, from the pro-EU reformist opposition party Continue the Change, which was among the organizers of Wednesday's protest, said, quoted by Reuters, that “we will enter the euro zone even if the government resigned”.