Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Ministry of Interior disputes the number of supporters of the Bulgarian lev who protested on May 31

Photo: Ani Petrova, BNR

Supporters of keeping the Bulgarian lev after 2026 and the Ministry of Interior disagree on the number of people who took to the streets of Bulgarian cities on May 31.

The organizers of the protest, which took place in Sofia and in more than 100 other cities across the country, claim that the total number of participants exceeded 270,000.

''The actual number is significantly lower”, the Ministry of the Interior replied to an inquiry from 24 Chasa daily. The ministry did not conduct an official count, but based on the number of police officers deployed for security and the drone footage published by the Interior Ministry, it is clear, they say, that the number was below 270,000.

The leader of the Vazrazhdane, Kostadin Kostadinov, one of the main organizers of the demonstrations, stated that over 50,000 people gathered in Sofia, more than 20,000 in Plovdiv, and between 5,000 and 10,000 in other regional cities. According to the police, however, the number of participants in Plovdiv, for example, was no more than 1,000.

Meanwhile, supporters of the euro have expressed doubts on social media, suggesting that some of the protest photos shared online are fake or have been generated using artificial intelligence.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov

Published and translated by Kostadin Atanasov

Photo: Ani Petrova, BNR




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

The week starts with hot weather and precipitation in some places

On Monday before noon it will be mostly sunny, but later clouds will form and in the western and mountainous regions rainfalls are expected. The highest temperatures will be between 29° and 34°C; higher in the southeastern regions...

published on 6/8/25 6:05 PM

Rumen Radev says the government should stop lying about BOTAŞ

The government is neither fully using this contract to satisfy domestic consumption, nor selling to third parties through its capacity, nor renegotiating, President Rumen Radev told journalists in response to a question from BNR..

published on 6/8/25 3:16 PM

Protest of Vazrazhdane party in support of the Bulgarian lev

Citizens gathered in the so-called triangle of power in Sofia, demanding the resignation of the government and keeping the Bulgarian lev, BNR reporters Nikolay Hristov and Svetoslava Kuzmanova informed. The protest was organized by..

published on 6/8/25 2:35 PM