Riots in the Serbian parliament Politicians fight each other with smoke bombs, eggs and beatings

A debate escalated in the Serbian parliament: the opposition called on the government to resign, smoke bombs were set off and a member of parliament had to be taken away injured.

At the beginning of the spring session of the Serbian parliament on Tuesday, there were violent clashes between government and opposition MPs. This was triggered by the adoption of the agenda by the ruling parliamentary majority contrary to the proposals of the opposition.

As a result, smoke bombs were set off in the chamber, eggs and water bottles were thrown and fisticuffs broke out between the MPs. At least one MP had to be taken to hospital as a result of her injuries.

Parliament President Ana Brnabic decided to continue the session despite the riots. There were 62 items on the agenda, including numerous draft laws. Brnabic blamed the opposition for the unrest.

Students block state universities

The opposition, on the other hand, demanded that parliament deal exclusively with a bill that would secure more funding for state universities - a key demand of the student protests that have been ongoing since the end of November. Marinika Tepic from the opposition Freedom and Justice Party (SSP) emphasized that the government no longer had any legitimacy to propose legislation following the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic.

Parallel to the parliamentary session, students gathered in front of the parliament building to commemorate the 15 victims of the collapse of the Novi Sad train station canopy on November 1, 2024 with 15 minutes of silence. The students, who have been blockading all state universities since the end of November, as well as the opposition and the general public see corruption as the cause of the accident. Serbia has been in a political crisis since the accident.