The promise of free ski tickets drew hundreds of people to Nizepole, the amateur slope near Bitola. Although the temperatures in Bitola are very low, the day was sunny, and many visitors shared pictures from their ski trip.

But the situation was in marked contrast with the raid on Wednesday, when riot police attacked hundreds of villagers of Vevcani, who gathered for their traditional carnival. Both events take place in the open air, and most people were wearing masks. After the raid in Vevcani, which immediately received a political connotation as the carnival is traditionally used to mock and lampoon neighboring countries who threaten Macedonia and the Zaev regime is desperate to avoid that, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski insisted that the police will raid any mass gathering of people, even if it is in the open. But, as VMRO official Aleksandar Pandov said, that is simply not ministry policy. Otherwise, the police would also be sent to Nizepole today, Pandov noted.