Explainer
What is the Czech plan that drew a huge rally in Prague?
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On Sunday, crowds filled the Letná plain in Prague to oppose replacing the licence fee that funds public broadcasting with direct state financing. The bill passed its first reading in a night-time vote, and this is the latest of several large protests.
Prague
Organisers put the crowd at 350000 people, the low end of their range. Police said the rally passed peacefully.
350,000
The bill would cut public broadcasters' funding by 15 percent. Babis says he has no interest in controlling or nationalising public media. The government insists editorial independence stays untouched.
15%
In Prague, protesters want the bill withdrawn. Babis told the Czech news agency CTK the government will go ahead with abolishing the fee.
Prague
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The story
Hundreds of thousands march in Prague to defend Czech public media fundingRead the article
Based on reports by
- rmf24.plIs this the largest protest in the history of the Czech Republic? Crowds in defense of public media
- LaVanguardiaHundreds of thousands protest in Prague against public media funding reform
- Deutsche WelleCzechia: Scores protest against public media reform
- rts.chCzech Republic: 200,000 protesters for public media
- Il MessaggeroPrague, 450,000 in the square to defend public media: the largest protest since the Velvet Revolution
- RzeczpospolitaGreat demonstration in Prague. Czechs protest in defense of the public media subscription fee