City Hall to increase security during protest

Prague City Hall has said it will increase security when city representatives meet next week. The move comes in response to a planned protest organised over the social network Facebook. Some 3,000 people promised to attend a demonstration outside City Hall on Tuesday to protest the coalition agreed earlier this month between local Civic and Social Democrats. The deal, which has proven unpopular among many voters, froze out the municipal elections winner TOP 09 and its candidate for mayor Zdeněk Tůma. Instead, the Civic Democrats’ candidate Bohuslav Svoboda is expected to take up the post.

The planned protest has received backing from a number of high profile figures on the Czech arts scene, among them singer Radek Banga of Gipsy.cz and documentary filmmaker Olga Sommerová.

Author: Jan Velinger