Student revolt becomes everyone’s in Serbia

Wednesday 9 July 2025, by Lucien Perpette


On 1 November 2024, the canopy of the Novi Sad train station collapsed, killing 16 people. This incident was the trigger for a widespread challenge to Serbian president Vučić’s power and an unprecedented democratic mobilisation.

On 5 November 2024, thousands of people gathered in the streets of Novi Sad to show their indignation. The shared conviction is that the accident could have been avoided if the authorities had taken into account the risks of an accident which a technician had alerted.

A student dynamic based on self-management

Despite the indictment of the person in charge of the site, the protest spread to the student community. At the beginning of November 2024, all the country’s universities took part in the protest. Prime Minister Miloš Vučević tendered his resignation.

The protest was mainly led by students who occupied the faculties — often with the support of their lecturers. Free assemblies were held practically permanently. Direct democracy is being experienced. There can be no leader, because the demonstrators fear the concentration of power and take into account the risk of targeted repression.

Students have initiated protest marches throughout the country to denounce corruption, clientelism, authoritarianism. This mobilisation expresses the beginning of a search for an alternative to the Serb parliamentary system, which concentrates power in the hands of minorities. Some participants say that they had no interest in politics six months before the events and are now happy to be able to get involved.
A national popular mobilization

The marches are meeting with broad popular support. In the countryside, farmers regularly offer food and accommodation, and take the opportunity to denounce the ridiculous prices at which their products are bought by the large distribution groups.

On 15 March 2025, the movement took on a general dimension. A demonstration of more than 300,000 people took place in Belgrade. It seems that its scale — the country has 6.5 million inhabitants — led the government to abandon the repression, although a deafening cannon shot was fired to disperse the crowd. However, the scale of the mobilization did not lead President Vučić to change his stance or to start a dialogue with the protesters.

On 28 June 2025, the demonstration in Belgrade brought together 140,000 people. The students said that the movement was turning into a citizen protest. The illegitimacy of the government has been proclaimed. Two political demands are now being put forward: the calling of early elections and the dismantling of a military camp. The reasons for mobilization are broadening: endemic corruption, selling off natural resources to foreign companies, precarious conditions for workers and farmers.
Repression and international solidarity

Faced with this new democratic momentum, the government responded with violence and police interventions. A toughening of the repression is expected in the coming weeks. Since 28 June, blockades of strategic crossroads have continued throughout the country, and particularly in the capital.

No one knows how the government will manage to get out of the impasse in which it is sinking. The choice of repression and an authoritarian drift are not likely to favour the acceptance of Serbia’s candidacy to join the European Union, which is nevertheless a declared priority of the government.

Movements of solidarity with the Serbian people must be stepped up, as has already been the case during the two visits of Serbian demonstrators to Brussels and Strasbourg.

7 July 2025


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Lucien Perpette, a member of the Fourth International and a retired trade unionist from Belgium, is International Viewpoint’s correspondent in ex-Yugoslavia.

International Viewpoint is published under the responsibility of the Bureau of the Fourth International. Signed articles do not necessarily reflect editorial policy. Articles can be reprinted with acknowledgement, and a live link if possible.