On the evening of August 10, 2018, approximately 100,000 Romanians filled Victoria Square in front of the government headquarters. They were part of a months-long protest movement against perceived corruption and judicial reforms seen as weakening the rule of law. At around 9:00 p.m., members of the Romanian Gendarmerie, a military force, advanced. They used tear gas, water cannons, and batons against the crowd. The authorities stated they were responding to provocations from hooligans who had infiltrated the protest. Video evidence showed police striking peaceful demonstrators, journalists, and medics. The operation lasted for hours. By midnight, 452 people required medical treatment.
The violence was a calculated escalation. The protest was the largest since the fall of communism in 1989. The governing Social Democratic Party, led by Liviu Dragnea, had pushed legislation that critics argued would cripple anti-corruption prosecutions. The protest on August 10 was a direct response to the government’s dismissal of the chief anti-corruption prosecutor. The state’s reaction demonstrated a willingness to use force against a largely middle-class, pro-European Union constituency. It was a battle over the soul of Romanian governance.
The official narrative of hooligan infiltration was only partially true. While some clashes occurred, the Gendarmerie’s response was disproportionate and indiscriminate. The water cannons were allegedly mixed with chemical irritants. The attack did not scatter the protesters for long. It galvanized them. In the following days, even larger crowds returned to the square, chanting ‘Justice, not violence.’ The images of bloodied civilians circulated globally, isolating the government.
The event marked a point of no return for Romania’s civil society. It proved that a significant portion of the population was willing to physically defend judicial independence. The government survived, but its legitimacy was permanently damaged. Liviu Dragnea was later imprisoned on separate corruption charges. The protest movement did not achieve all its aims, but it established a durable and vigilant opposition, one that remembered the taste of tear gas on a summer night.