Thousands of Hungarians protested in Budapest against a law aimed at banning the annual Pride march by LGBTQ+ groups, which critics view as part of a broader crackdown on democratic freedoms ahead of the 2026 parliamentary election.
Right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, facing a strong challenge from an emerging opposition party, has criticized the LGBTQ+ community and pledged to limit foreign funding for independent media and non-governmental organizations in Hungary.
Parliament, dominated by Orban's Fidesz party, passed a law last month to ban the Pride march, claiming it could be harmful to children. Orban, in power since 2010, promotes a Christian-conservative agenda.
The law allows police to use facial recognition cameras to identify attendees and impose fines on participants, a measure critics argue could be used to target Orban's political opponents.
Orban contended that the occurrence of rallies like Tuesday's indicated no threat to democracy, labeling opposition protests against the new law as "provocation."
Yet, some demonstrators at the protest, the third rally in response to Orban's reforms, expressed concerns about the state of Hungary's democracy more than two decades after joining the European Union.
A group of embassies in Budapest, including those from European states but not the United States, voiced their apprehension regarding these legislative changes.
"We, the undersigned Embassies, are deeply concerned about the legislation...that results in restrictions on the right of peaceful assembly and the freedom of expression," stated 22 embassies, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Festival organizers maintain that the Pride march poses no threat to children and intend to proceed with the event despite the ban.