“We Ride to Bring Serbia Back”: Serbian Students Pedal to Strasbourg in Protest and Hope

Serbian students have delivered a powerful message to Europe — and to their own country — by cycling over 1,400 kilometers to the French city of Strasbourg, home to the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe.

“We are not riding towards Europe to flee Serbia. We are riding to bring it back,” the students wrote in an open letter addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron.

„Each turn of the pedals was a protest against fear, a call for dignity, and a declaration that young people in Serbia are not giving up on their country. We are fighting to rebuild it,“ they told the Council of Europe upon arrival.

Their route took them through several European countries, where they were warmly received by members of the Serbian diaspora — many of whom expressed pride and nostalgia upon seeing the students’ determination and idealism.

But their message was not welcomed by all. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić dismissed the trip as a “pointless journey,” even as he met with President Macron earlier this month in Paris.

Below we publish the students’ letter in its entirety:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Representatives of the Council of Europe,

Friends of freedom and justice,

We did not come here because it was easy. We came here because it was necessary. We come from a country where too many have lost faith that change is possible, where truth is silenced, and where justice has become a distant echo. But we are not here to complain.
We are here to remind you — and ourselves — that hope still moves, and sometimes it moves on two wheels. We pedaled over 1,400 kilometers, not because we had the strength, but because we refused to give up.

Each turn of the pedals was a protest against fear, a call for dignity, and a declaration that young people in Serbia are not giving up on their country. We are fighting to rebuild it.
We would like to share with you an open letter addressed to President Emmanuel Macron, written by a group of students from Serbia as part of their peaceful protest. This letter serves as a personal and urgent appeal, born on the journey that speaks louder than words.

Open Letter to the President of the French Republic

Dear President Macron,

We address you as students from Serbia — young people who have decided amid the lack of justice and dialogue in our own country to set off by bicycle toward the seats of European and international institutions. Our journey, over 1,400 kilometers long and titled Tour to Strasbourg, is both a symbol and a testimony of despair — but also of unwavering hope.

Our mission is simple, yet urgently important: to draw the attention of the international community to the deepening erosion of democratic values in Serbia. We live in a country where institutions no longer protect citizens, but instead serve the interests of a narrow circle of power. Where media are under pressure, elections are compromised, and critical thought is marginalized and attacked.

The immediate spark for this protest was the tragedy in Novi Sad — the collapse of a train station canopy that killed 16 people, including children. But the root cause lies much deeper: systemic irresponsibility, corruption, and the devastation of institutions that once existed to serve the people. Instead of answers and accountability, citizens were met with silence — and yet another injustice among many.

That is why we pedal forward, carrying a message — Serbia needs Europe’s support, but not in the form of protocol meetings and diplomatic smiles. We are not asking for sanctions; we are asking for a gaze of truth and responsibility. Because meetings with leaders who do not recognize their own responsibility toward their own people — when held without critical reflection — can be interpreted as legitimizing of authoritarianism.

Mr. President,

You have often emphasized the importance of European values, of freedom and human rights. Today, you have the opportunity to show that those values are indeed universal. Your support for the struggle for truth, justice, and freedom in Serbia would mean a great deal — not only to us, but to an entire generation of young people who want to stay in their country and build it upon the foundations of democracy and dignity.

We are not riding toward Europe to flee Serbia. We are riding to bring it back.

With deep respect,
Students from Serbia