Letná protest in Prague defends public media funding; organisers expect 400,000 to 600,000

The plan under protest

The rally on Letná Plain is titled "Letná proti 4:36", a reference to 04:36, the time at which the coalition scheduled its vote on the bill for Saturday, 24 October. The Million Moments for Democracy group organises the event to oppose a government plan to scrap licence fees and fund Czech Television and Czech Radio from the state budget. The first of three readings ended with an approval vote in the early morning of 24 October, and the broadcasters' budgets would shrink by about 15% in the first year. Staff at both broadcasters have struck over the plan. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš floated keeping the fees voluntary in late October, an idea Czech Radio director René Zavoral has called unsystemic.

Expected crowd and the stakes

Organisers expect 400,000 to 600,000 people on Letná Plain, which overlooks central Prague, when the rally starts at 14:00 on Sunday. Mikuláš Minář, chairman of the Million Moments group, has said it could be one of the largest civic protests in Czech history. Citing several academic studies, he argued that a civic protest can achieve results when at least four per cent of the population takes part, which would mean 436,000 people on Letná. The 2019 "Letná 2" rally against Babiš's conflicts of interest drew between 250,000 and 300,000 people.

Organisers' low estimate400,000

Organisers' high estimate600,000

Organisers' low estimate

400000 people

Organisers' high estimate

600000 people

Data from the article text

Some participants want the government to resign or call early elections, while many say their main aim is defending the independence of public broadcasters. Asked why he would attend, Jan Hudec told ČT24 he wants to back the public broadcasters.

“The main reason is support for public service media.”

Who is coming and who is not

Jan Grolich, chairman of the Christian Democrats and South Moravian governor, told Blesk he will attend. TOP 09 chairman Matěj Ondřej Havel also plans to be there, as a citizen who opposes the plan. Pirates chairman Zdeněk Hřib will be absent, because he is travelling to Taiwan with eight other opposition MPs to back the island against rising Chinese pressure, though he says he will support the protest from afar. Foreign minister Petr Macinka (Motoristé) plans to join a noon debate on Česká televize on Sunday. Babiš said he does not plan to engage with the protest and usually records videos on Sundays. TV presenter Daniel Stach, one of the campaign's best known faces, says some protesters will channel wider opposition to the government.

Getting to Letná and the streets

Prague's public transport company will add services on Sunday. Metro trains will run more often on all three lines from 11:30 to 19:00. Tram 40 will run from 12:00 to 19:00 from Červený vrch via Dejvice, Letná and Karlín to Palmovka, while temporary tram 44 will run from 12:00 to 14:30 from Špejchar via Letná and Holešovice and back. Dozens of police officers will oversee order and traffic, and police are urging people to come by public transport. Ambulance services will also run beyond their usual level.

Critics and the government's response

The European Broadcasting Union, the European Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and the International Press Institute have criticised the plan and compared it to moves by Slovakia's prime minister Robert Fico and Hungary's former premier Viktor Orbán. Protesters argue the plan would give ministers more leverage over newsrooms, following a path Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Serbia have taken, where populist governments eroded media independence. Czech Television and Czech Radio have warned that the planned cut would mean fewer programmes and fewer staff. Babiš, a billionaire who returned to power last year, says protesters are stirring the public with unfounded claims. In an op-ed published before the rally, on what he called the opposition's "seven lies", the licence fees together come to 205 koruna (£7.03) a month, and he wrote:

“Anyone who talks about 'nationalisation' of public media is deliberately lying.”