Sofia Paralyzed by Protests, Bulgarian Patriarch Ceremony

The Bulgarian capital Sofia was under siege Sunday with only the metro running and providing some sort of transportation.

There were no buses and other public transportation over the large-scale protest rally sweeping the city's downtown. Taxi cabs were not offering rides even to the outskirts and the suburbs.

People were walking on foot, spontaneously joining the rally, which started at 30-000-strong and kept growing. The crowds have been moving around – from the Eagles' Bridge intersection to the Parliament, the Presidential Office, back to the Parliament, then to the main courthouse and then to the vicinity of the Presidential and the Council of Ministers buildings, but they kept walking instead of stopping at one location.

The rallies against the political model established in the country after the fall of the Communist regime, the mafia, high utility bills, and the overall impoverishment of the nation were held all over the country.

There are were reported clashes, aggression, provocations and other incidents.

In Sofia, the situation was even more complicated since there was a simultaneous procession to the Alexander Nevsky cathedral on the occasion of the election of the new Bulgarian Patriarch Neofit.

As it was attended by many senior politicians, including ministers from the outgoing Cabinet, which resigned last week over the mass protests, the Speaker of the Parliament, the President, former PM, Socialist leader, Sergey Stanishev, former Tsar and PM, Simeon Saxe-Coburg, Members of the Parliament, diplomats, and other officials, there were fears the procession could clash with the demonstrators, but they did not materialize.

There was no large police presence either. Riot police units were located only near the Parliament, the Presidential Office and the headquarters of CEZ power utility.

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