When Monday dawned in Georgia, Tbilisi had been shaken by demonstrations for four nights in a row. In the last 24 hours alone, 21 police officers have been injured in clashes with EU-friendly activists.
The tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside the parliament building in Tbilisi on Sunday waved European and Georgian flags. Some banged on the metal door that blocked the parliament's entrance.
Pulled out
The police used water cannons, but failed to disperse the crowds. In the end, fully equipped riot police were deployed with tear gas and additional water cannons, while demonstrators built barricades of trash cans set on fire.
Some also fired fireworks at the police.
Similar protests took place in cities across Georgia.
"Provoking" police?
The demonstrators are protesting against the new government's decision to freeze all talks on EU membership until 2028. They are also demanding that the autumn elections be re-held.
Georgia went to the polls on October 26, but the result has not been recognized by the EU Parliament or the opposition in the country, which claims electoral fraud. According to the official election result, the ruling party Georgian Dream won 89 of the 150 seats in parliament.
The country's Prime Minister Irakli Kobachidze condemns the activists for "systematic use of violence" and for "provoking the police". He dismisses all thoughts of re-election.
On the other hand, the pro-Western President Salomé Zourabichvili has sided with the demonstrators. She writes on X that they are defending Georgia's constitution and their "European choice".
