Europe Riots Against … What?

Across Europe, the people are protesting. But they’re not fed up with a particular party or person. They’re rallying against the whole political system.

Between 100,000 and 200,000 people turned out to protest in Bulgaria last Sunday. That’s a lot of people for a small country—around 2 percent of the whole population. “Bulgarians rarely overcome their apathy to go out on the streets,” notes the EU Observer. “They don’t usually believe they can make a difference by protesting.”

What prompted them to turn out this time? The government had already stepped down a few days earlier. They were protesting against no one.