In protest against inflation and declining purchasing power, thousands of people demonstrated in Istanbul at the first major rally against the backdrop of unrest in the Turkish economy in weeks.

More than 5,000 protesters gathered at the invitation of major trade unions and in protest against the deterioration of the Turkish lira and inflation.

In a speech during the demonstration, the Secretary-General of the Revolutionary Trade Union Federation, Erzo Gercz Oglu, said: "We're getting poorer every day, but everything's fine according to the gentlemen who run the country. We say we can no longer afford our needs. Don't underestimate the intelligence of the working class. "

The employee of the car parts factory, Sybil Jellick, who participated in the demonstration, explained: "We no longer have the means to take care of our homes properly... We can't manage anymore. "

In particular, the demonstrators demanded that the net minimum wage, currently 2825 lire (179 euros), be raised to 5200 lire (331 euros).

According to official figures, inflation was 21.31% on an annual basis during November in Turkey.

However, the opposition and observers questioned the authenticity of the official figures, accusing the National Statistics Office of misjudging inflation. The real inflation rate may be more than 58%, according to a study by the independent economists' Inflation Research Group.

The Turkish lira has declined by more than 45% against the dollar since the beginning of the year, almost 30% since the end of October.