Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili wrote on social media: “It is alarming that yesterday’s radical rally — where speakers publicly called to ‘overthrow the government’ and ‘punish everyone’ — was financed by the European Union.
By supporting such actions, the EU embassy risks associating the European Union with extremism in the eyes of the Georgian public.
Post‑election unrest began late October 2024, after allegations of fraud in the October 26 parliamentary vote. The ruling Georgian Dream party refused to recognize the results, triggering mass protests
In late November, the government announced it would pause EU accession talks until 2028, enraging pro‑EU demonstrators and continuing nightly mass rallies.
Yesterday’s rally is both a continuation and escalation of mass public protest in Georgia—fueled by election grievances, a freeze on EU accession, and growing state repression—while drawing significant EU visibility and international concern.
