Supporters of keeping the Bulgarian lev after 2026 and the Ministry of Interior disagree on the number of people who took to the streets of Bulgarian cities on May 31.

The organizers of the protest, which took place in Sofia and in more than 100 other cities across the country, claim that the total number of participants exceeded 270,000.

''The actual number is significantly lower”, the Ministry of the Interior replied to an inquiry from 24 Chasa daily. The ministry did not conduct an official count, but based on the number of police officers deployed for security and the drone footage published by the Interior Ministry, it is clear, they say, that the number was below 270,000.

The leader of the Vazrazhdane, Kostadin Kostadinov, one of the main organizers of the demonstrations, stated that over 50,000 people gathered in Sofia, more than 20,000 in Plovdiv, and between 5,000 and 10,000 in other regional cities. According to the police, however, the number of participants in Plovdiv, for example, was no more than 1,000.

Meanwhile, supporters of the euro have expressed doubts on social media, suggesting that some of the protest photos shared online are fake or have been generated using artificial intelligence.

Published and translated by Kostadin Atanasov

Photo: Ani Petrova, BNR