In Prague, about 90,000 people came out to support Pavel – photo

On Sunday, February 1, tens of thousands of Czechs rallied in support of the Czech president, Petr Pavel, after he refused to approve the candidacy of a minister of the coalition government. This was reported by the agency Reuters about the organizers.

Amid an escalating conflict with the government, the pro-European and pro-Ukrainian Pavel last week accused Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macík of sending messages through his adviser threatening "consequences" if he continued to oppose the appointment of Filip Turek as Czech Minister of the Environment.

Supporters of the Czech president filled Prague's Old Town Square and the adjacent Wenceslas Square, while police blocked a number of streets in the area.

Many of the protesters waved flags of the European Union and the Czech Republic and carried placards with the words "We support the president. "We support the president." Some expressed support for Ukraine and disagreement with the coalition government of the Czech Prime Minister Andrey Babish.

Police did not provide an official estimate of the number of protesters, but organizers put the number at 80,000 to 90,000 and said they planned to hold further demonstrations in other Czech cities on February 15.

• On January 27, 2026, Pawel announced that the head of the Automobilist party and Foreign Minister Maciej tries to blackmail him about the appointment of the Minister of Environmental Protection. The foreign minister replied that he was not blackmailing him but negotiating.
• Czech Prime Minister Babiš declared his desire to reconcile the minister and the president of the country.