A student-led strike in Serbia on Friday closed down numerous businesses and many people didn’t go to work as populist President Aleksandar Vucic planned a big rally to counter growing anti-government protests that have challenged his grip on power.

Tens of thousands of protesters led by university students have held a noisy rally outside Serbia’s state television headquarters in Belgrade to protest what they called the broadcaster’s pro-governme

Nationwide protests occur on same day that President Aleksandar Vucic holds rally in Jagodina to try to counter persistent anti-government demonstrations

A student-led strike in Belgrade hut down businesses and drew tens of thousands of people to demonstrations around the country.