2020–2022 Slovenian protests

Shortly after the third Janša government took office in early 2020, a series of large, mostly-peaceful protests were held. The start of the protests coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia, with temporary restriction of movement and public gatherings in force to curb the spread of the disease. Early protests included the display of flags and banners from balconies and windows. At the end of April, public rallies began to be organised; most protesters bicycled, since recreational movement was permitted in public places. Between April 2020 and April 2022, when a scheduled parliamentary election was held, there were 105 protest rallies organised each Friday by a coalition of non-governmental organisations and civil groups called "People's Protest Assembly" (Protestna ljudska skupščina). Besides the periodic Friday protests, there were occasional demonstrations called for by other groups, including protests against anti-Covid measures and pro-government rallies; notably, on 5 November 2020, protests organized by groups not associated with the regular protests led to riots. Several systemic and operative flaws were identified in the Police handling of the protests, including excessive use of force.