Supporters of Calin Georgescu protest in Victoriei Square amid supermarket boycott call

Gendarmes-protesters clash after President Iohannis announced resignation. Violence escalates, riot police uses tear gas.

By Romania Journal Last updated Feb 10, 2025

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Several hundred people protested in Bucharest’s Victoriei Square on Monday. They chanted “Round 2 back” or “We voted, you stole” and came up with several messages against the ruling coalition. The rally took place on the day that former candidate Călin Georgescu urged people to boycott supermarkets, and some protesters sold eggs, cheese, bacon or milk in front of the government.

Moreover, just as Klaus Iohannis announced his resignation, demonstrators broke through the fences of the Gendarmerie and attacked law enforcement. Someone in the crowd threw a firecracker.

The gendarmerie intervenes with tear gas against the supporters of Călin Georgescu, who threw firecrackers and smoke bombs. Several people were detained. The number of demonstrators is increasing.

“We appeal for calm and mutual respect. Unfortunately, there is another attempt to break the cordon of gendarmes. Appeal to those in the square – distance yourself from those who incite violence. A person was taken out of the crowd who was carrying a knife. It is a group that is trying to break the cordon. We do not intervene against all the participants, but act proportionally”, declared the spokesperson of the Gendarmerie to Antena 3. “There are people at the public gathering who are inciting violence against the police”, added the Gendarmerie, which confirms that it intervened with tear gas because the protesters repeatedly forced the cordon of the police and threw firecrackers and smoke bombs.

“So far, the gendarmes have identified and removed six people from the crowd for violating the provisions of the legal framework in force by committing criminal and minor offenses,” the Bucharest Gendarmerie reported. “Due to the fact that the demonstrators repeatedly forced the gendarmes’ position on the sidewalk of the Victoria Palace, the irritating and tear-gas substances from the law enforcement agencies were used,” the Bucharest Gendarmerie confirmed.

“Out with the criminals, out with the traitors,” protesters chant, while asking the resignation of Ilie Bolojan as well, the Senate Speaker who will serve as interim President after Klaus Iohannis’ resignation.

At the beginning of the rally, protesters also had several messages accusing the government of destroying Romanian agriculture. “You destroyed beekeeping” or “Stop honey imports from China and Ukraine.” “Supermarkets bring us additives and third-rate food. Support the producers, brothers,” a protester shouts into a loudspeaker.

The demonstrators are urged by a person with a loudspeaker to chant against the government: “We don’t want to be led by thieves.” Also, songs with patriotic messages such as “God protect the Romanians” are played from the speakers. “Your drugged children are killing our innocent children! You stole for yours, we mourn for ours!”, “You killed our fellow citizens in the midst of the epidemic/ You also killed when you impoverished my people by giving all the resources to foreigners/ Traitors” or “Werner + PSD + PNL = thieves and bots/ Red Plague! Round two back! No violence, freedom and democracy” are some of the banners displayed by the participants.

The last major protest by Călin Georgescu’s supporters took place on January 24, when thousands of Călin Georgescu’s supporters protested in Victoriei Square, after initially participating in a demonstration called by the former candidate in the Youth Park, on the occasion of the celebration of the Union of the Principalities.

Former candidate Călin Georgescu himself was in the early hours of Monday in Piața 16 Februarie in Bucharest, where he and his wife made several purchases at the stalls. He talked to several saleswomen and gave an interview to Realitatea Plus in which he talked about Romanian products. Both he and his wife had shopping carts with them, but the driver was the one who put the products in the trunk.

Călin Georgescu’s visit to the 16 February Square in northern Bucharest seems to be an electoral campaign: the former candidate was accompanied by his wife, but he also had security, and a television reporter waited for him inside the square. Cristela Georgescu said they bought vegetables to cook “baked beans” and salad.

Georgescu called on Romanians to boycott supermarkets today, motivating his call with false claims. He chose Monday citing religious reasons, but this is a day when fewer people usually go to hypermarkets.

“This is what it is with these stores that we complain about for miles about boycotting them. Don’t worry, they declare zero profit anyway. So under these conditions I don’t think we are affecting their existence. Did you come to Romania to do business? Then pay your taxes correctly,” Georgescu claimed.

Official data contradicts him, however. The financial reports of companies registered in Romania are public and anyone who searches for them can find out that the large supermarket and hypermarket chains reported, in 2023, revenues of approximately 3.5 billion lei. Information from 2024 is not yet available.

Data from the specialized application Termene.ro shows that Lidl had the highest profit. The German chain has 11,300 employees in Romania and had a net profit of over a billion lei.

In second place is Kaufland, with 865 million lei, and which has the most employees – 14,300.

Next is Carrefour, with 249 million lei profit. Next, Penny, Mega Image and Auchan also had net profits between 244 and 86 million lei, profits for which the companies pay tax.

With losses of over 200 million lei appears Profi.

It is being taken over by Mega Image, in a transaction of 1.3 billion euros that will be concluded this year.

The 7 large companies listed have over 69,000 Romanian employees.

Călin Georgescu also claims in his statements that there are no Romanian products on the shelves in the large store chains. And in this case, it is about disinformation. In reality, 70% of the products we find on the shelves are Romanian, made by Romanian processors, says the Minister of Agriculture, who specifies that a week of boycott would mean the bankruptcy of Romanian processors.

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