Hungary’s parliament has passed a law to ban the annual Pride march by LGBTQ+ communities, triggering the blockade of a bridge in central Budapest in protest against the changes fast-tracked by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party.
The legislation was criticised by Budapest’s Liberal Mayor Gergely Karácsony, while lawmakers from the small opposition party Momentum lit up smoke flares and scattered in the assembly hall manipulated photos depicting Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin kissing as the voting progressed.
Outside, crowds gathered to demonstrate against the proposal. The law would criminalise any event that violated the country’s child protection laws, which would apply to the Pride event. It would also allow authorities to use facial recognition software to identify those attending.
Fidesz, which holds a commanding parliamentary majority, submitted a bill on March 17 to ban the march on the grounds that it could prove harmful to children and approved the legislation in an expedited process on March 18.
The group of protesters gathered outside parliament before marching on to Margaret Bridge, where several thousand demonstrators chanted “Assembly is a fundamental right” while facing down a police cordon.
Orbán, who faces an unprecedented challenge from a new opposition party ahead of a 2026 election, has criticised the LGBTQ+ communities and also pledged in recent weeks to crack down on foreign funding of independent media and NGOs in Hungary.
Parliament also passed a resolution opposing joint European borrowing for defence, after Orbán said on March 14 that Hungary would take part in common European defence policy and contribute funds to it but would not agree to joint borrowing.
The European Commission proposed earlier in March to borrow up to €150 billion to lend to European Union governments under a rearmament plan.
For approval, the proposal requires a qualified majority, or the backing of at least 15 of the EU’s 27 countries, representing at least 65 per cent of the bloc’s population. Hungary alone cannot block the plan.
Regarding the Budapest Pride march, organisers said they planned to hold this year’s event despite the ban.
