site.btaPresident Calls Clashes between Protesters and Police Mafia-Orchestrated Provocation

This is not a clash between police and protesters, but a provocation by the mafia which aims to confront, President Rumen Radev wrote on his Facebook profile late on Monday, commenting the nationwide protests against the 2026 State Budget Bill, which led to clashes between protesters and police in central Sofia.

The head of State urged for an end to the violence and for everyone to observe the law. 

"The provocations do not change the fact [that] Bulgarians said NO to these powerholders. There is only one exit - resignation and early elections," the President said. 

Protesters who have gathered in front of the MRF - New Beginning headquarters threw bottles, firecrackers, rocks and objects at the building and the police officers protecting it. In a social media post earlier in the day, the opposition Continue the Change party warned that football hooligans had come in front of MRF's building and urged protesters to avoid Vasil Levski Boulevard, where there was a power outage.