Bulgaria's police detained 71 individuals following brief yet intense clashes that erupted on Monday during the largest protests seen in over a decade. This was reported by Bloomberg.
On December 1, tens of thousands gathered in Sofia and other cities to demonstrate against Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov's coalition. The protests were sparked by a government budget bill for 2026.
Sofia's police chief, Lyubomir Nikolov, stated that the demonstration was largely peaceful until a small group of protesters initiated «unprovoked aggression» against officers.
He added that the detained protesters, who have not yet been charged, were «hooligans» who injured three police officers and damaged municipal property.
It is worth noting that on December 1, 2025, protests took place across Bulgaria against the government's budget plans. Following this, President Rumen Radev called for the resignation of the government and the scheduling of early parliamentary elections.
On December 2, 2025, the Bulgarian government officially withdrew the budget bill for 2026 after massive protests that became some of the largest in recent decades.