Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Hungary’s capital on Saturday as a banned LGBTQ+ rights rally swelled into a mass anti-government demonstration, in one of the biggest shows of opposition to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Crowds filled a square near Budapest’s city hall in sweltering heat before setting off across one of the main bridges over the Danube, waving rainbow flags, some draped in capes and some carrying signs mocking Orban.
“This is about much more, not just about homosexuality... This is the last moment to stand up for our rights,” said Eszter Rein Bodi, one of the marchers.
Photo: AP
“None of us are free until everyone is free,” one sign read.
Orban’s government has gradually curtailed the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade, and lawmakers passed a law in March that allows for the ban of Pride marches, citing the need to protect children.
Orban’s opponents see the move as part of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms ahead of a national election next year when the veteran prime minister — whose party has dominated Hungary’s political scene for 15 years — would face a strong opposition challenger.
Small groups of far-right counter-protesters attempted to disrupt the peaceful march, but police separated them and diverted the route of the march to avoid any clashes.
Orban and his government, who promote a Christian-conservative agenda and have championed family values, have defended the restrictions saying that the need to protect children supersedes all other rights.
Orban posted a photo with his grandchildren on the morning of the march, with the caption: “This is what I am proud of.”
Several of his supporters followed suit.
Marchers included students, families and people from the countryside who said they had never attended a rally before. The Elisabeth Bridge, built to carry six lanes of traffic, was engulfed with people.
Local media sites including 444.hu and Magyar Hang estimated the crowd at 100,000, but Reuters could not confirm that figure.
“The message is clear, they have no power over us,” Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony told the rally. He thanked police for securing the march.
March organizers said participants had arrived from 30 different countries, including 70 members of the European Parliament.
More than 30 embassies have expressed support for the march, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Hungarian authorities to let the parade go ahead.
Budapest’s mayor had tried to circumvent the law by organizing Pride as a municipal event, which he said does not need a permit.
However, police banned the event, arguing that it fell under the scope of the child protection law.
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