Huge protests, among the largest since the fall of communism, have rocked Romania after the government passed a law that would effectively allow official corruption.

More than 250,000 Romanians took to the streets, about half of them in the capital, Bucharest. “Thieves, thieves,” they shouted, denouncing the government and corruption. A few demonstrators clashed with riot police.

The protests — which continued Thursday night and were expected to swell further over the weekend — erupted after the government adopted an emergency law on Tuesday night that would make official misconduct punishable by prison time only in cases in which the financial damage is more than 200,000 lei, or about $47,000.