Hundreds of people gathered in several major European cities on Saturday to attend protests against the leadership of US President Donald Trump.
Attended mostly by US citizens living abroad, the rallies coincided with ‘No Kings’ demonstrations planned across the United States that are expected to draw large crowds in Washington and other cities.
A few hundred people in Madrid chanted slogans and held up signs at the rally organised by Democrats Abroad.
Several hundred people also gathered in central Paris in support of the “No Kings” movement. Similar demonstrations were also held in Berlin, Lisbon and Rome, among others.
The demonstrations have been labelled by the president’s Republican Party as “Hate America” rallies.
They come against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programmes and services, but is testing the core balance of power as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that organisers warn is a slide toward American authoritarianism.
Trump himself is away from Washington at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
While the earlier protests this year — against Elon Musk’s cuts in spring, then to counter Trump’s military parade in June — drew crowds, organisers say this one is building a more unified opposition party movement.