Thousands of people protested in the Georgian capital Tbilisi for a second day on Wednesday against a law on “foreign agents” that critics say signals a leaning towards authoritarianism and harms Georgia’s chances of strengthening ties with Europe, Reuters reported.

On Tuesday, parliament approved a bill in its first reading that would require any organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents” or face a hefty fine.

The ruling Georgian Dream party says it is modeled after US legislation from the 1930s. Critics, including President Salome Zurabishvili, say it resembles a Russian law widely used by the Kremlin to suppress dissent.

“Today you represent a free Georgia that sees its future in Europe and will not allow anyone to steal that future,” she said on Tuesday, calling for the law to be “repealed” and vowing to veto it.

In violent clashes Tuesday night, protesters threw Molotov cocktails and rocks at police, who fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the detention of 66 people.

Protests began again on Wednesday afternoon with a march on the central Rustaveli avenue to mark International Women’s Day, which is a public holiday in Georgia.

In the evening, thousands of people gathered near the country’s parliament, carrying Georgian and EU flags and chanting “No to Russian laws.”

Reuters reporters heard the crowd singing or broadcasting the national anthems of Georgia, Ukraine and the European Union as people blocked traffic in front of parliament.

Footage of smaller protests in the resort city of Batumi, Georgia’s second largest, was also shared online.

The gap between the ruling party and the pro-European president

The issue has deepened the rift between Georgian Dream, which leads the government and has a majority in parliament, and President Salome Zurabishvili, a pro-European supporter who distanced herself from the party after being elected with its support in 2018.

She supported the protesters, saying Tuesday that lawmakers who voted for the bill violated the constitution.

She has also vowed to oppose the bill if it reaches her desk, although parliament can override her veto for legislation.

Critics say the Georgian Dream is too close to Russia and has led the country in a more repressive direction in recent years. Georgian society is strongly anti-Moscow after years of conflict over the status of the two Russian-backed separatist regions, which erupted in a brief war in 2008.

The draft law reflects the growing influence of Moscow

The US Helsinki Commission, a government agency that monitors rights in Europe, called the bill “an attack on the weakening of democracy in the country.”

“The ruling party’s rigid insistence on progress is worrying and a reflection of Moscow’s growing influence in Tbilisi,” the agency tweeted.

The head of the Georgian Dream party, Iraklii Kobakhidze, again defended the bill on Wednesday, saying it would help those who work against the interests of the country and the powerful Georgian Orthodox Church.

According to Georgian news agencies, he criticized Georgia’s “radical opposition” for inciting protesters to “unprecedented violence” during Tuesday’s rallies.

Several EU officials have also expressed concern about the law.

“The adoption of this ‘foreign influence’ law is incompatible with the path to the EU that the majority of Georgia wants,” European Council President Charles Michel tweeted on Wednesday.

Last year, Brussels rejected Georgia’s bid to become a candidate country for EU membership, saying it needed to speed up reforms in areas such as the rule of law, freedom of the press and the independence of the judiciary.