Many thousands crowd Bulgaria’s capital in protest against Budget 2026

Several thousand Bulgarians turned out on the night of November 2026 for a protest organised by opposition coalition We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria in the centre of capital city Sofia against the government’s Budget 2026, which in coming days is set for a second-reading vote in Parliament.

The protest was among the largest seen in Sofia in recent years, against Budget legislation which has been roundly condemned by opposition parliamentary groups, private sector associations, trades union and economists.

The first reading of the Budget was approved on November 21 and following the second reading stage in committees, the final debate and vote in the House is expected in the week beginning December 1.

The protest had been scheduled to begin at 6pm, but participants gathered earlier in the square near Parliament and the Presidency, to watch live video streaming of MPs processing the second reading of the Budget in committee.

The November 26 event was notable for a massive police presence, and for the presence near an entrance to the National Assembly building of a large white bus, which immediately recalled a night in July 2013 when a big white bus was the focus of clashes during protests against the “Oresharski” government of the time, and even earlier, in 1996 during the protests against the socialist Videnov government, there also was an incident involving a white bus.

On the night of November 26, there were tensions and clashes when objects were hurled at police, apparently the work of provocateurs from “football fan” clubs who had introduced themselves into the large crowd.

While the protest was called by WCC-DB, there were others who arrived, from opposition pro-Russian party Vuzrazhdane, as well as others such as former gambling boss Vassil Bozhkov, who however was chased away by the crowd.

WCC leader, former finance minister Assen Vassilev, warned that provocateurs would try to spoil the peaceful protest and called for calm.

According to organisers, long after the adoption of the National Health Insurance Fund budget, a subordinate element of the Budget as a whole, the MPs from the portfolio committee did not dare leave the Parliament building.

Footage on Facebook showed some of them trying to sneak behind the protesters, but giving up and returning.

Reporters at the scene said that participants said that they were unhappy with the Budget and would not leave, and were prepared to block the National Assembly for as long as necessary.

The organisers cited the increase in social security contributions, the doubling of the tax on dividends , and disagreement with the introduction of special electronic accounting devices for businesses as the main motive.

According to WCC-DB, every taxpayer will have to pay up an additional 600 leva a year.