The Christmas Fair that was supposed to be organized in Victoriei Square, the place in Bucharest where people have been gathering this year for protests, will be moved to the George Enescu Square, reports local Mediafax.

The authorities decided to move the fair late last week after dozens of people protested in Victoriei Square while the organizers were trying to arrange the fair. They managed to stop the setting-up of the fair, and even started to dismantle the metal structures the organizers already had in place there.

Following this protest, Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea said she was “saddened to see an event that was approved for the Victoriei Square could not take place because of verbally and physically violent protesters.” She also warned that something similar may happen anywhere, anytime, and that this was the start of “anarchy”.

The Christmas Fair that was supposed to open in Victoriei Square on December 5 and last until December 17 was a short notice event, announced just days prior to its opening. It would have been the third such fair in Bucharest, and the second one organized by the City Hall.

Earlier this week, opposition party Save Romania Union (USR) said it would call for an extraordinary meeting of the Bucharest General Council (CGMB), in which the city councilors would be asked to vote on a draft decision aimed at turning Victoriei Square into a space dedicated to civic manifestations.

On Tuesday, December 5, following the news that Romania’s King Michael I died, mayor Gabriela Firea announced that she would propose city councilors to name Victoriei Square after the king.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com