Tens of thousands of Romanians have been protesting against the country's government today, which many accuse of wanting to weaken the fight against corruption.

A crowd of about 30,000 demonstrators blamed the cold and flooded the streets of Bucharest, Romanian media reported. At the same time, the number of participants in the mobilizations rose to at least 20,000 in 70 cities in the country.

"Thieves, thieves!" Shouted protesters gathered in front of the headquarters of the government in the Romanian capital.

About 40 civil society organizations and two major trade unions, who have called for the mobilizations, have denounced in a joint statement that a "political mafia has been controlled by Romania".

The signatories are demanding the withdrawal of bills for reform of the judiciary, which, as they say, will reduce the powers of the prosecution against corruption.

The opposition recently accused the government of "threatening the independence of the judiciary" through the three bills submitted to parliament that are under discussion.

These bills were the reason for a new wave of protests against the Social Democrats, the major winners of the December 2016 parliamentary elections.

According to the opposition, the reforms proposed by the government are contrary to the progress made in the fight against corruption in Romania.

"Laws that contradict the interests of Romania are being drafted, just to save some of the investigators. In my opinion, this is terrible, "said a pensioner, Ion Nika, who manifested in Bucharest, told the French Agency.