Belgrade protests spark dispute over crowd size estimates

Large anti‑government protests took place on Belgrade’s Slavija square. The Archive of Public Gatherings estimated attendance between 180,000 and 190,000 people and warned that reporting exact numbers is difficult, cautioning the public against misinformation and claims of under‑reporting by police and regime media.

President Aleksandar Vučić rejected the estimates as unrealistic, stating that gathering 300,000 people at Slavija is impossible and insinuating that officials are inflating figures. He suggested the protests could involve “three million” participants and criticised those he said were spreading false numbers, linking the dispute to upcoming elections.