“No, thanks” has been the resounding response of thousands of Macedonian citizens who have swarmed the streets of Skopje for the fifth day in a row to protest a French-proposed compromise on ending a dispute with Bulgaria that has blocked the country’s bid to join the EU.
Protestors marched through the boulevards of North Macedonia’s capital city holding a banner with the slogan “No compromise with fascists,” as a video from Radio Free Europe shows.
During NATO summit in Madrid, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that North Macedonia and Bulgaria had accepted his proposal that would address Bulgaria’s concerns over issues of language, history and cultural identity. On Sunday (3 July), North Macedonia’s ruling coalition decided to send to Parliament for a vote, sparking outrage among politicians and citizens.
Smaller opposition parties said they found unacceptable that Bulgaria’s demands, and the disputes between the two countries should now be part of North Macedonia’s negotiations to join the EU. They also requested more transparency regarding the proposal given the long history of meetings and working groups with Bulgaria to settle precisely these thorny questions.
Galvanised also by the opposition party VMRO-DPMNE, many Macedonians have been adamant that they find the proposal unacceptable and a threat to their national identity.
Over the past week, protestors have targeted government institutions, throwing eggs and even rocks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and burning pictures of their politicians.
On Wednesday evening (6 July), the Macedonian police intervened to stop an inter-ethnic conflict after a group of ethnic Albanians began throwing objects at the protestors and one even showed a gun.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 47 police officers have been injured during the protests, and 11 people have been detained so far.
