Protesters in Tbilisi Clash With Georgian Police

Protesters clashed with the police in the Republic of Georgia’s capital late Saturday during the third consecutive night of demonstrations over the government’s suspension of its bid to join the European Union.

Thousands of people have rallied in the capital, Tbilisi, since Thursday night after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the country was putting the process of E.U. accession on hold until 2028 and would decline all grants from the bloc. The police have responded with water cannons, tear gas and stun grenades.

Georgia’s Interior Ministry said on Sunday morning that protests overnight had “evolved into violence.” It claimed that protesters “threw pyrotechnics” and “ignited objects” toward police officers and at Parliament, causing a fire to break out. Windows were smashed by “stones and various objects,” the ministry added in a statement, saying that protesters also had damaged protective iron barriers around the building.

More than 100 people had been arrested as of Saturday night, according to the ministry, which also said that several police officers were wounded and that 42 of its employees had been injured since the protests began.

The Associated Press reported that its journalists had seen police officers chasing and beating protesters; it was not immediately clear how many protesters suffered injuries.

Georgia has been gripped by political crisis since the disputed victory of the Georgian Dream party in October’s parliamentary elections. The governing party has been pivoting Georgia more toward Russia and China. Georgia’s opposition, which says the election was rigged and has boycotted the new sitting of Parliament, seeks closer ties with the West.

Georgia’s Constitution stipulates that the government “shall take all measures” to “ensure the full integration” into the European Union and NATO. The official powers of the country’s president are nominal, since the prime minister runs the government, but President Salome Zourabichvili has become a vocal supporter of the opposition and has accused the government of committing a “constitutional coup.”

“Another violent night in Tbilisi,” Ms. Zourabichvili wrote late Saturday on X. “The illegitimate government resorts to illegal means to silence Georgians standing firm for their constitutional, European choice.”

An aerial view of the protest in Tbilisi on Saturday.

Demonstrators held up a sign at the protest on Saturday night.

Antigovernment protesters burned an effigy of the prime minister in front of the Parliament building.

Riot police officers were on the streets, and the police used a water cannon.

Protesters ducked behind a makeshift barricade.

Demonstrators set off fireworks from behind a makeshift barricade.

Police officers detained a protester.

Clashes continued into the early morning.

A masked protester gestured in front of a makeshift barricade.

The flags of Ukraine, Georgia and the European Union were displayed at the protest.