Thousands of Georgians Form Human Chains in Support of EU Membership Amid Ongoing Protests

Thousands of Georgians formed human chains across the country on Saturday, in support of the European Union membership, marking second month of their daily pro-Europe rallies.

Mass street protests gripped Georgia since November 28, when the ruling Georgian Dream party's increasingly authoritarian government said it will not seek the opening of EU accession talks until 2028, The Caspian Post reports, citing AFP.

The protest came a day before a controversial inauguration of Georgian Dream loyalist Mikheil Kavelashvili as the country's new president, after his election was declared "illegitimate" by the current leader Salome Zurabishvili and the pro-Western opposition.

On Saturday afternoon, thousands of demonstrators, waving Georgian and EU flags, lined the Mtkvari River embankment and several bridges in the capital, Tbilisi, forming a kilometres-long human chain, an AFP reporter saw.

"I Want to Hold Your Hand," a hit song by the English rock band the Beatles, echoed from speakers mounted on a car as it drove along the human chain.

Zurabishvili -- at loggerheads with the ruling party -- has joined the demonstrators at Tbilisi's Dry Bridge.

Similar rallies were held across Georgia, including in the cities of Batumi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Poti, Samtredia, Rustavi, Gori, Khashuri, Telavi and Gurjaani, local media reported.

Protesters then marched to their usual gathering spot outside parliament.