Thousands of Romanians have rallied in the capital, Bucharest, to demand the government resign, the latest in a wave of protests against spending cuts and other tough austerity measures.

At least 2,000 people gathered outside government headquarters Tuesday to demand Prime Minister Emil Boc and President Traian Basescu step down.

Mr. Boc has made some concessions — including dismissing his foreign minister for insulting remarks he made about the protesters, and re-appointing a popular health official whose resignation sparked the demonstrations two weeks ago.

But opposition leaders say these do not go far enough, and are calling for early elections.

Although most of the demonstrations have been peaceful, some clashes between protesters and police have turned violent.

The spending cuts are required as part of a multi-billion-dollar loan from the World Bank, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.