“Czech Republic First!“ Thousands rally in Prague calling for new government, military neutrality

Thousands of Czechs protested in Prague on Friday (October 28), demanding the center-right government to step down to allow an early election. The demonstration coincided with the national holiday marking the formation of Czechoslovakia in 1918. It’s the third organized by the “Czech Republic first“ group, a mixture of various, mostly far-right, fringe groups with pro-Kremlin and anti-vaccine tendencies. They opposes the European Union and NATO transatlantic alliance, and wants the nation of 10.7 million to be militarily neutral. Police estimated the crowd in the lower tens of thousands, less than the two previous rallies. Meanwhile, a small counter-demonstration was staged nearby in support of Ukraine. Prague, which is currently holding the rotating EU presidency, has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in Europe. The Czech government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala has signed up to EU sanctions against Russia. Though the country has adopted a