The first public protest against the government of Prime Minister Rumen Radev took place Saturday evening in front of the Council of Ministers building, with demonstrators demanding the cabinet's resignation and chanting "Resign!" and "This is not Moscow!" Hundreds of people gathered in the area carrying Bulgarian and European Union flags, joined by representatives of civil society organizations. The demonstration began at 6:30 p.m. under a heavy police presence around the government building.
The protest was directed against both the government's policies and its proposed 2026 state budget. Participants displayed banners reading "92 years are enough," "Radev, go in peace," and "We want real reforms." The event was organized by the civil association BOETS together with activist Manol Glishev, who stressed in advance that it was intended to remain a civic demonstration without the participation of political parties. Organizers had previously objected to representatives of opposition liberal parties "We Continue the Change" (PP) and "Democratic Bulgaria" (DB) joining the protest, and no politicians attended.
Addressing the crowd, Glishev rejected claims that only political parties could organize mass demonstrations. "They explained to us that a protest could not be organized this way and had to be led by a party," he said. He argued that dissatisfaction had been building since the nationwide protests in December over the previous budget, adding that the new draft budget was even worse and accusing the government of taking on excessive debt. "There is no such party that should govern Bulgaria. We need to accumulate anger. Not to clap, but to shout that Rumen Radev is garbage!" he declared.
