Serbian President Vucic faces tens‑thousands protest in Belgrade

On Saturday, May 23 2026, tens of thousands gathered at Slavija Square in Belgrade for a student‑led anti‑government rally demanding early parliamentary elections and an end to President Aleksandar Vucic’s rule. The protest grew out of a wave of anti‑corruption demonstrations sparked by the November 2024 collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 people. Organisers and participants carried banners and T‑shirts with the slogan “Students win,” and many travelled from other Serbian towns, while the state railway cancelled all trains to the capital. Police estimated the crowd at about 34,300; independent monitors suggested a higher figure. After the main rally, a group of masked demonstrators clashed with riot police, throwing rocks, flares and bottles; police responded with pepper spray, tear gas and stun grenades. Prosecutor Bojana Savović warned, “a state where laws are not implemented… becomes a mafia organization.” Vucic labelled the protesters violent and said the state will continue to work “in line with the law.” The Council of Europe’s human‑rights commissioner warned that Serbia’s rights situation is deteriorating, and EU officials cautioned that democratic backsliding could jeopardise roughly €1.5 billion in accession funding.