Thousands of Albanians protest against a Trump-linked project

For more than a week, daily demonstrations have been taking place in Tirana against this project championed by Ivanka Trump, daughter of US President Donald Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner.

The protesters claim that this luxury hotel complex, estimated to cost $4,6 billion and slated to be built in a protected area of ​​the country's Adriatic coast, poses a risk to the environment and to a nearby lagoon essential for bird migration.

The developers also hope to transform the uninhabited island of Sazan – once a secret communist military base – into a prestigious tourist destination.

On Thursday evening, as with previous gatherings, the crowd marched to the government headquarters on Tirana's main boulevard.

The protesters held up signs proclaiming "Albania is not for sale" and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.

"We don't want this type of investment because it could harm our environment and change this place forever," Teftalia Papa, a journalism student, told AFP from the crowded boulevard.

For Fadel Dia, a protester who runs an IT company, "the Zvernec project will destroy our nature." "It will be built on protected land, in a nature reserve, which will harm our country's tourist appeal," said the young man draped in a red and black Albanian flag.

The unrest broke out during a demonstration in Zvernec at the end of May, after workers installed barbed wire to cordon off part of the nature reserve reserved for the project.

Videos of bulldozers on the beach and violent clashes with private security guards have spread online, causing widespread outrage.

Many are expressing their frustration with the corruption that is rampant in this Balkan country and are demanding Mr. Rama's resignation after nearly 13 years in power.

"People have had enough," argued Ervin Goci, a participant in the rally and a university professor. "We need to get rid of this entire political class."

Albania has already received warnings from Brussels, which fears that this project could slow down the country's accession process to the European Union.

The Socialist Prime Minister downplayed the concerns of the protesters, insisting that the project had not been approved.