Protests began in Bulgaria on 26 November 2025 after the Zhelyazkov government announced a 2026 budget plan that would have increased taxes—specifically, the amounts individuals were to contribute to pension and social-security programs. The government suspended, then withdrew the budget, but demonstrations continued, with protestors demanding the resignation of the government and new elections. The protests were identified as "Gen Z protests" by multiple sources.

Many university students in the capital of Sofia joined the mass protest. On 2 December, an estimated 50,000 people took part in a rally in Sofia, while demonstrations in other major cities drew another 50,000, organisers said. The Bulgarian media gave similar estimates, citing drone imagery. The estimates suggest that about 1.55% of the country's population participated.

On 11 December 2025, the Zhelyazkov government resigned, acknowledging "the voice of the people". "Our desire is to rise to the level of what society expects," Zhelyazkov said to reporters in Parliament in the capital, Sofia. "We have heard the voice of the people who have been protesting. We need to meet their demands, and what they are demanding at the moment is the resignation of the government."

Scale and significance of demonstration: Organizers and media reports estimated that tens of thousands people participated in the December protests, with some rallies drawing large crowds in Sofia and other cities. The demonstrations have been described as among the most significant public mobilizations in Bulgaria in years, reflecting deep public discontent with political corruption and governance.

Causes

Corruption

In 2025, Transparency International ranked Bulgaria as having the highest perceived level of public-sector corruption among European Union member states alongside Hungary, while Eurostat data indicated that Bulgaria had the lowest GDP per capita in the Union.

This has resulted in public discontent and led to previous protests, such as the 2020–2021 Bulgarian protests.

Corruption was also stated as one of the reasons for the 2025 protests, with the topic being discussed extensively on social media. Former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and DPS leader Delyan Peevski were targeted by the protests for their alleged corruption.

Conditions of doctors in Bulgaria The protesters argued that the healthcare system was overlooked, underfunded and pushed young and experienced doctors to migrate to other countries.

This is part of a phenomenon that has been observed for decades, with 350 to 400 doctors leaving the country every year according to data from 2020.

2026 Budget proposal The 2026 Budget proposal sparked the current protests, and was criticized as the "worst budget in the last 30 years" by employer organizations. The protesters argued that the budget would have increased the individual contributions to pension and social-security programs, resulting in increased taxes to fund the pay of high-ranking officials, government administration and security institutions rather than to invest in social programs.

Timeline

2025

26 November

The first protest took place on 26 November 2025, when a crowd of protesters gathered in Sofia, being organized by We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria. The protest drew around 20,000 people. The goal of the protests was to surround the parliament, thus stopping MPs from the governing majority from leaving the building. MPs from the PP-DB parliamentary group guarded the main exits of the National Assembly, while protestors attempted to form a human chain. The beginning of the protest was marked by the arrival of a white bus belonging to the Bulgarian police force, which had previously been used during the 2013–2014 protests against the government of Plamen Oresharski. Besides supporters of PP-DB, the protest was attended by MPs from Revival and MECh, as well as former leader of the BSP, Korneliya Ninova.

The protest was mostly peaceful, although occasional clashes between police forces and anti-government protestors did occur. A van belonging to the Gendarmerie was surrounded and pushed by protesters, although it was eventually recovered by the police. Similarly, a car belonging to the National Service for Protection (NSP) was surrounded and pelted with objects. Objects were reportedly thrown at the police cordon guarding the National Assembly, with 3 police officers being injured. At 22:00, the chief inspector of the Sofia Police Department, Ivan Georgiev, requested that the mayor order the protestors to disperse due to violations of public order, as well as the fact that the protest had been scheduled to end at that time. The request was, however, denied by Sofia mayor Vasil Terziev. In the aftermath of the protest, a video circulated on social media showing a man in a police uniform antagonising protesters and being held back by his colleague.

The protest was scheduled to take place concurrently with a meeting of the Budget and Finance Commission, which was set to review the proposed budgets of the National Health Insurance Fund and Social Security Institute. Unexpectedly, the committee's chairman and long time MP from GERB, Delyan Dobrev, summoned the meeting two hours earlier than the scheduled time. The commission's start was disrupted by PP leader and former finance minister, Assen Vassilev, who called the meeting an "outrage" and stated several times "it will not happen this way", referring to the alleged plans of the governing majority to vote on the proposed budgets without proper debate. The 7-hour session was screened at the protests.

After the session, scuffles between MPs from the governing majority and staff members belonging to PP-DB were reported in the corridors. Specifically, PP-DB alleged that DPS MP, Hamid Hamid, attacked two young staff members while they were filming inside the National Assembly.

27 November In the morning, GERB leader Boyko Borisov announced his support for the withdrawal of the proposed budget for 2026. Shortly thereafter, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov held a press briefing in which he announced a "suspension" of the current budget proposal process pending a restoration of dialogue with trade unions and employer organisations. He characterised the protest as "spontaneous" and promised to find a "middle ground" between the demands of protestors and fiscal realities. The decision to withdraw the budget was praised by representatives from PP-DB.

DPS leader Delyan Peevski condemned the protests, comparing the blockade of parliament to the "Peoples Courts" during communist rule and threatened to blockade parliament "every day" with his supporters. He further re-affirmed the parties support for the incumbent government.

Deputy prime minister and BSP leader, Atanas Zafirov, clarified at a press conference that the budget was not withdrawn but "postponed" and that the party would "rethink" its participation in government if the social measures agreed to were removed from the budget.

In the evening, Boyko Borisov claimed that "dialogue has been restored" after a meeting between representatives of trade unions, employer organisations and the finance ministry in GERB's office.

28 November

On the morning of 28 November, there Velichie organised protests took place outside the parliament, demanding the resignation of the incumbent government. During the protest traffic movement in central Sofia was blocked after the intentional breakdown of cars by Velichie protesters.

Confusion increasingly emerged about what the suspension meant. Speaking to journalists on 28 November, Borisov clarified that the budget was not technically withdrawn, but rather that it would not be reviewed by the parliament until an agreement was reached with employers and trade unions. His statement was interrupted by Yes, Bulgaria's co-leader, Ivaylo Mirchev, who demanded that Borisov explain if the budget would be withdrawn and if tax increases would be retained. During the confrontation between Borisov and PP-DB leaders, they demanded that the government must withdraw the budget entirely in order to rework the financial projections. Borisov in turn claimed the previous protests were organised by the Alliance for Industrial Capital in Bulgaria and challenged PP-DB to organise their own.

Borisov's claim that the previous protests were organised by the AICB was supported by Delyan Peevski, who further declared that DPS represented the entire population.

Following the statements by Borisov and Peevski, PP-DB announced new protests scheduled for 1 December against the budget.

1 December

On 1 December 2025, between 50,000 and 100,000 people showed up to the protest organized by PP-DB, with the protest being supported by various other civil society groups and social media influencers in Sofia. The protest was heavily promoted through the use of social media (such as TikTok and Instagram) and by high-profile singers, actors and influencers. The protest was actively attended by people from Generation Z, who made up a substantial proportion of the gathered protestors.

The protest initially started as peaceful, with speeches from the leaders of PP-DB and representatives of protest organisations. During the speech by former Prime Minister and PP co-leader, Kiril Petkov, he called for protesters to carry out a procession towards the offices of GERB and DPS.

The manifestation turned violent with dumpsters set alight, vandalised police vehicles, and attacks on GERB, There is Such a People and DPS offices. However, organizers claimed that those who rioted violently were not part of the protests but were provocateurs allegedly sent by the government. Protesters specifically condemned allegedly manipulated news recordings of the riot. At least 71 people were arrested, and 3 officers were injured. A cyberattack on the official streaming account broadcasting the event failed.

The protest was further accompanied by a range of technical malfunctions. Specifically, during the protest a black out occurred in parts of central Sofia, in what the Ministry of Energy classified as a likely act of sabotage.

Besides Sofia, protests took place in a number of other regional towns, including Varna, Plovdiv and Blagoevgrad. Counter-protests took place in Stara Zagora, targeting the Recovery and Sustainability Plan which had been developed during the Denkov Government.

The protest led to demands for the government's resignation from a range of political figures, including President Rumen Radev.

2 December

After the protest the budget proposal was officially withdrawn by the government, with a promise to present a re-worked budget. However, PP-DB declared that the measure was unsatisfactory and they now demanded the resignation of the government. They further demanded the resignation of Minister of the Interior, Daniel Mitov, for the mismanagement of the protests.

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov insisted that the government would not resign and characterised the protest as primarily "social".

In a televised address to the nation, President Radev called on the government to resign and for snap elections to be held.

3 December

In a statement to the press, DPS leader, Delyan Peevski accused PP-DB of trying to incite ethnic hatred against Turkish and Roma voters. He further claimed PP-DB co-leader, Ivaylo Mirchev had "bent" towards him during the time of the Denkov Government. Peevski's statement led to a scuffle in the corridors of the National Assembly, when Mirchev attempted to confront him in his office. The two men were separated by members of the National Service for Protection, tasked with guarding Peevski.