Why Finland’s protests rarely draw Europe-sized crowds

Protests in Finland usually draw hundreds or thousands of people, while demonstrations elsewhere in Europe can bring hundreds of thousands into the streets. Political sociology researcher Georg Boldt says differences in protest culture and the declining importance of communities in Finland help explain the gap, Yle reports.

In recent years, demonstrations of a few hundred people have been the most common in Finland. About 200 people joined a march in Helsinki on Saturday, November 14, inspired by protests elsewhere in Europe.

Population differences are one factor, but Boldt, a postdoctoral researcher in political sociology, says demonstrations in other countries can draw a more diverse crowd. In France, for example, trade unions play a central role, but people who share a view also join protests independently, he says.

Unions often organise Finland’s largest rallies

Large demonstrations in Finland are uncommon unless trade unions organise them, Boldt says. Such events require months of planning and resources, including networks, funding and people to handle the work. Unions are well placed to provide those, he says.

Yle reviewed its news archive to examine the size and causes of demonstrations in Finland over more than a decade. The findings support Boldt’s view: the largest demonstration in that period was organised by trade unions.

In autumn 2015, a rally for wage earners brought up to 30,000 people to Helsinki’s Railway Square, according to police. Historically, unions have used demonstrations to show whom they represent and to display a cross-section of their members, Boldt says.

In winter 2024, a demonstration organised by the SAK and STTK trade union confederations drew about 13,000 people to Senate Square in Helsinki, according to police. An estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people were on strike at the same time.

A rare trigger can bring thousands onto the streets

Boldt says a spontaneous protest in Finland is more likely to grow large without union support when an exceptional event sparks public anger. In September 2016, a violent incident took place during a demonstration by the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement at Helsinki’s Railway Square. Jimi Karttunen, who was assaulted, died a week later. The Court of Appeal found that the aggravated assault had a racist motive.

Soon afterwards, more than 15,000 people marched from Helsinki’s Citizens’ Square to Senate Square. People with experience organising demonstrations helped make the march possible, Boldt says, but public outrage brought the crowd onto the streets.

Opposition to racism is one of the themes that has drawn large crowds in Finland, according to Yle’s review. A demonstration against racism in Helsinki in September 2023 brought more than 10,000 people into the streets, according to police.

Finland has also seen very large demonstrations in the past. In 1991, a trade union rally against unemployment drew 40,000 people to Senate Square. A demonstration held there during the 1956 general strike was of a similar size.