Traffic in the area of the parliament has been restored.
There continues to be a police presence. People gathered in front of the National Assembly until one o'clock after midnight. Several times, police vans and cars tried to pass through "Knyaz Alexander I" Square, but the gathered people did not let them in. Police officers tried to talk to them several times. A black civilian car with its lights on also tried to pass, the people did not allow it, after which the police made the gathered people clear the boulevard for traffic.
Last night, the protest, announced for 6:00 p.m., filled the square in front of the Presidency, the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers. Citizens protested against the draft budget for 2026 in Sofia and other cities in the country.
The organizers of the protest were from "We continue the change - Democratic Bulgaria" (PP-DB), and the reason was the refusal of GERB leader Boyko Borisov to withdraw the draft budget for next year, which had already been submitted to parliament. There were also riots in the capital in the late hours.
The Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs organized nine checkpoints in the city center, in order to prevent incidents.
The dissatisfied began to gather at around 6:00 p.m., and traffic in the protest area was blocked.
A spotlight was used on the National Assembly building to write "Mafia", a pig's head and handcuffs were also visible, and the inscription "Come on Monday. Let's stop the thefts from the budget". The screen on the stage broadcast various videos dedicated to the budget and the protest, as well as speeches by the chairman of "DPS-New Beginning" Delyan Peevski and footage of GERB leader Boyko Borisov.
In front of the Council of Ministers building, there was a stage, as well as a screen on which footage from a drone was broadcast. They showed that the space from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) to the monument to Saint Sophia was filled with people.
"Panties warm in winter" read the inscriptions on some of the posters, on which the Minister of Finance Temenuzhka Petkova and two people with pumpkins and pig faces instead of heads are in prison uniforms. Protesters began to boo when clips with speeches by Delyan Peevski, Bajram Bajram and Yordan Tsonev from "DPS-New Beginning" were played on the screen. "We will not allow them to lie to us" read posters with the faces of Borisov and Peevski.
The protest continued with horo, music and chants of "resignation". Some of those gathered performed folk dances, while a musical performance with bagpipes sounded from the protest stage. The parliament building was illuminated with the words "resignation and imprisonment". The organizers called for the protest to be peaceful, and when there are provocations - to be photographed, after which they will be sent to the Ministry of Interior. The flags of Bulgaria and the European Union were flying at the protest. Two posters were erected in front of the parliament building: "Generation Z is coming" and "Young Bulgaria without mafia".
Among the dissatisfied were the leader of "We Continue the Change" Asen Vassilev, as well as the co-chairman of "Yes, Bulgaria" Ivaylo Mirchev. Vassilev expressed hope that this budget, which is disastrous for the country, will be withdrawn and completely revised, and Ivaylo Mirchev stated that the budget cannot be adopted in this version, noting that they had submitted their proposals months ago.
Later, some of the protesters marched to the headquarters of GERB and "DPS-Novo nacho". Along "Tsar Osvoboditel" Blvd., they reached the headquarters of "DPS-Novo nacho" on "Vrabcha" St.. There was a police presence around the party headquarters. The protesters chanted: "Whoever does not jump is fat" and "Peevski will fall".
Some of the protesters against the 2026 budget reached the headquarters of GERB on "Bulgaria" Sq. in Sofia. During the procession, police officers stopped traffic on the streets so that they could pass.
Around 9:00 p.m., a fire in a collector of the "West" power plant caused the shutdown of 15 medium-voltage outlets supplying parts of the center of Sofia. The power outage lasted until 11:00 p.m. The Ministry of Energy informed that an investigation had been launched into the case due to suspicions of intentional interference and vandalism. In a post on social networks earlier by "Continuing the Change" they warned: "The agitators came to the headquarters of the DPS. Be careful! Avoid "Vasil Levski" Blvd., where there is no electricity."
People gathered in front of the DPS headquarters threw plastic and glass bottles, bombs, stones and other objects at the building and at the police officers guarding it. Buckets and other objects were burning in the street.
Meanwhile, people with their faces covered were throwing bottles at the police and knocking over containers on "Al. Dondukov" Blvd. in Sofia. Some of them also broke various objects. The people pulling the containers also had their faces covered. The rumble of fireworks or bombs was heard and smoke bombs were lit.
Initially, the SDVR told BTA that no participants in the protest were arrested, and the Sofia Municipality said that it was necessary to run two additional metro trains due to the increased flow of passengers to the central part of the city.
Shortly before midnight, the SDVR reported that over ten people were detained at the protest in the center of Sofia, with one police officer having a broken leg and another law enforcement officer being taken to hospital.
Eight ambulances were sent to the scene and three more were on standby. There were several victims at the protests who were taken to hospitals with various contusions and injuries, Katya Sungarska, the spokesperson for the Sofia Emergency Medical Center, announced on bTV.
Shortly after 1:30 a.m. this night, the protest against the 2026 draft budget ended. Traffic in the area around the parliament was restored. There continues to be a police presence. The last protesters were in front of the National Assembly. Several times, police vans and cars tried to pass through "Knyaz Alexander I" Square, but the gathered people did not let them in. Police officers tried to talk to them several times. A black civilian car with its lights on also tried to pass, but the people did not allow it, after which the police made the gathered people clear the boulevard for traffic.
Dissatisfied people also gathered in Blagoevgrad, Gotse Delchev, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Dobrich, Lovech, Pleven, Plovdiv, Ruse, Sliven, Stara Zagora, Shumen and Yambol.
Reactions of politicians
The head of state stated in a post on the social network that this was not a clash between police and protesters, but a provocation by the mafia, which aims to confront them. Rumen Radev called on the violence to stop and for everyone to adhere to the law. "Provocations do not change the fact: Bulgarians said NO to this government. There is only one way out: resignation and early elections," the head of state said.
The chairman of "We Continue the Change" Assen Vassilev demanded the resignation of the Minister of Interior Daniel Mitov. Vassilev told BTA that Mitov allowed police officers to be beaten during a peaceful protest and a peaceful march. His resignation should be submitted this evening, he said. According to him, the protest ended peacefully, but after that, a march headed to the headquarters of "DPS-New Beginning" and the headquarters of GERB.
Ivaylo Mirchev also called for the resignation of the Minister of Interior due to the inadequate reaction of the police during the protest. According to him, the perimeter was not secured in any way when there were smaller protests, there were more police officers guarding the entire road.
Bulgaria has risen, wrote on Facebook the MP from "Continuing the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" Andrey Tsekov.
The leader of "DPS-New Beginning" Delyan Peevski responded to the president with the words "Radev has revealed his true face! We will not allow anarchy and chaos to take over Bulgaria".
The largest peaceful protest in many years was marred by a group of hooded hooligans, Mayor Vasil Terziev said on the air of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) regarding the protest tonight. Groups of hooded people dressed entirely in black with wrenches sticking out of their pockets were very clearly visible, said Mayor Terziev.
"We Continue the Change" distanced itself from vandalism and violence during the protest tonight. They posted footage on Facebook of people peacefully protesting, and wrote under it: This is what one of the most beautiful, peaceful and youthful protests in our recent history looked like. What happened at the end has other authors and we categorically distance ourselves from all manifestations of vandalism and violence.
"Sofia is burning! Bulgaria is protesting! The police are reluctantly protecting the headquarters of "Novo Nachola" and GERB from the righteous anger of the people. They still didn't protect them," MECH leader Radostin Vassilev wrote on Facebook. The scoundrels stole 30 years from the Bulgarians and what is happening is expected and not surprising, he believes. If there was a provocation, it was against the patience of the Bulgarian people, notes Vassilev.
The leader of "Vazrazhdane" Kostadin Kostadinov published a verse from the poem "September" by Geo Milev on his Facebook profile on the night of the protest against the draft budget for 2026. "The night gives birth from a dead womb to the age-old malice of the slave: its purple anger - majestic", Kostadinov wrote.