The Bulgarian center-right government on Tuesday withdrew a controversial 2026 budget proposal following a week of Gen Z-led mass protests.
“The Council of Ministers has proposed that the National Assembly adopt a decision to withdraw the draft State Budget for 2026,” the government said in a press release.
The biggest demonstration Monday drew around 50,000 to 100,000 people to the streets of Sofia, according to various media accounts, including the Bulgarian News Agency, but remained peaceful.
After the rally dispersed, some masked rioters that were not previously at the protests hurled firecrackers and bottles at police officers, burned garbage containers and vandalized police cars.
Protests also erupted in at least a dozen other cities, including Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas. The demonstrations are the largest the country has seen since 2013, when citizens protested the political appointment of media mogul Delyan Peevski as a spy chief. He remains a highly influential behind-the-scenes figure.
Protesters had denounced the draft budget for imposing higher taxes and social security contributions on the private sector while channeling more funds to the state sector. Many demanded the resignation of the ruling coalition, carrying signs like “Generation Z is coming,” “Resign” and “Mafia out,” targeting key figures they viewed as controlling the government behind the scenes, including Peevski and Boyko Borissov, the leader of the center-right GERB party.
Ivaylo Mirchev, an MP from the opposition coalition We Continue the Change — Democratic Bulgaria, said in a post on X that “Bulgaria has awakened.”
“The government has collapsed under its own greed and arrogance. It cannot stay in power … The entire protest has demanded its resignation; they know their time is up, and now they are terrified of this unprecedented energy. Because the ones on stage are the youngest, they want their future, and they will not settle for fakes,” he wrote.
The Bulgarian Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
The unrest comes as Bulgaria prepares to adopt the euro on Jan. 1, with roughly half the population skeptical of the move amid fears of inflation and disinformation spread by Russia aimed at undermining public support for the single currency.
Antoaneta Roussi contributed to this report.