Thousands of people have been converging for several nights in the Macedonian capital after a French proposal called for North Macedonia to acknowledge the existence of an ethnic Bulgarian minority in the country.
The proposal is aimed at being incorporated into the country's constitution and it also includes, at the behest of Sofia, formally recognizing that the Macedonian language has Bulgarian roots. Many protesters say the changes aim to undermine their national identity.
Bulgaria has demanded that Skopje recognize the Bulgarian roots of the Macedonian language — which it considers a Bulgarian dialect — and to acknowledge the rights of North Macedonia's Bulgarian minority, including stopping "hate speech" against Bulgaria.
Nationalist opposition party VMRO-DPMNE had called for the protests, enraged because of concessions to Bulgaria amid the EU accession process.