Letná protest on 15 November: 100,000+ expected in Prague

Employees of Czech Television and Czech Radio went on strike on Tuesday over the government’s plan to abolish licence fees for public broadcasters. Sociologists are confident that more than 100,000 people will attend the “Million Moments for Democracy” demonstration on Prague’s Letná on Sunday, 15 November.

Outrage was sparked not only by the plan itself but also by the way the bill was pushed through its first reading. The ruling coalition added it to the agenda at the last moment and firmly scheduled the vote for 4:36 a.m. In response, the Veřejnoprávně initiative held public meetings in major cities. On Tuesday, thousands of people gathered on Wenceslas Square in Prague, where schoolchildren, students and figures from the cultural world joined media employees.

Why the issue struck a chord after all

Polls show that most people are not particularly concerned about public media. But as sociologist Jan Herzmann explains, even small percentages mean tens or even hundreds of thousands of people. In his words, those who value these media tend to be civically active, vote in elections and are willing to take part in demonstrations.

Michal Kormaňák, an analyst at Ipsos, adds that trust in public media in Czechia is high, so as soon as someone starts to meddle with them, the issue instantly becomes important to the public.

Jiří Navrátil, a sociologist at Masaryk University, believes society has been mobilised for a long time. According to him, Million Moments has been repeating its criticism ever since the Babiš government took office, people were already prepared, and now the “perfect moment” has arrived. Experts stress that the protesters are overwhelmingly opposition voters who see the abolition of fees as a blow to media independence. Herzmann expects other, broader themes to be heard on Letná as well, above all criticism of the ANO movement and Andrej Babiš.

Why a mass rally is expected on Letná

If you add up the participants of the rallies in Prague and other cities, the total comes to high tens of thousands, even though those gatherings were not covered or prepared as extensively as Letná. Herzmann suggests that significantly more than 100,000 will come. Navrátil also expects a “very large turnout”: people who were not previously part of the Million Moments network, such as representatives of theatres and sport, are joining in.

Martin Kratochvíl, an analyst at STEM, points to the date: 17 November falls two days after the demonstration. In his view, if the political situation does not calm down, the protests could continue into the holiday period. Gatherings on 17 November are usually peaceful but may take on a demonstrative character.

What the regional rallies showed

It was crowded not only in the capital. At Freedom Square in Brno, an estimated up to 10,000 people came to support public media, whereas in other large cities mostly a few hundred gathered. Navrátil explains this by the fact that Brno is a large student city with journalism and audiovisual departments and many students of the humanities and social sciences. In addition, large protests have happened in Brno before, and the local Czech Television studio is closely tied to the faculty.

Kratochvíl stresses that even small gatherings in regional cities should not be underestimated: people taking to the streets where they live is a new phenomenon since the Velvet Revolution. In his view, better local organisation and social media both help. Experts do not expect the rallies to draw fundamentally new groups; rather, more students and artists are likely to join the protests.

Around Prague guide on the topic: Public holidays in Czechia 2026: calendar, days off and shop opening hours

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz