Online met offline in Romania at the weekend when locals were asked for a password to enter their own city.

It happened as Târgoviște — based 75 km north-west of Bucharest — hosted a political rally for the Social Democrats (PSD).

The event for the ruling party, held ahead of European Parliament elections this week, saw 14 streets closed off.

Police said in advance there would be closures between 10 am and 4 pm but nobody expected them to be so strictly enforced.

A man, Paul, trying to get to a soccer game had a shock when a policeman stopped his car at the city limits and told him he had to park the vehicle and continue walking.

When he asked for details, the policeman told him that he should have a password or a special card — or some kind of credentials offered by the rally’s organisers — to be allowed to drive through.

The whole dialogue was recorded with a phone camera and posted on Facebook.

Paul told Euronews that after the password episode he parked his car at a petrol station and went to the political rally instead.

“We spoke with many people at the rally and I want to tell you that five out of six people told us they were brought there by the mayors of their villages.”

Police later clarified the password was put in place so the rally would take place without incident. They insisted the secret code was for accessing where the rally was, not the city itself.

“The security measures for PSD political events were tightened after protesters followed the party’s leaders, especially Liviu Dragnea, all around the country," said journalist Mari Jeanne Ion.

"Each time, people expressed their dissatisfaction with the measures taken by the government and the parliamentary majority in order to roll back the anti-corruption laws and change the justice system.”