Tens of thousands of people rallied against anti-corruption legislation in Romania's capital Bucharest, braving heavy snow, as well as a large police presence.
The protests were organised on Saturday after the leftist-leaning, ruling Social Democrats (PSD) passed new legislation last month that critics say will make it harder to prosecute crime and high-level corruption.
More than 90 Romanian former ministers, deputies and senators have been indicted by the Council of Europe's anti-corruption unit since 2006.
But Brussels has been accused of being too soft on the former communist state.
The scale of the protest is nothing new in Romania's history. Tens of thousands took to the streets in 1989 in a mass uprising, which led to the downfall of the communist leader Nicolae Caeusescu.
Memories of that revolution seem rife nearly 30 years later. "No communists, no criminals, no corrupts," one of the banners read in English at Saturday's demonstration.
As long as Romania has economic burdens, no future governments could be able to bring strong laws against the corruption.
