Biggest-ever Budapest Pride defies Orban ban in Hungary
Record numbers of people marched in the Budapest Pride parade Saturday, defying a government ban that marked a major pushback against LGBTQ rights in the European Union.
Organisers estimated up to 200,000 people had taken part in the 30th parade in the Hungarian capital, which was held in a festive atmosphere with rainbow flags flying high.
Those numbers far exceed the previous record turnout of 35,000 people and come in spite of a police ban imposed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's nationalist government.
The governing coalition amended its laws and the constitution this year to prohibit the annual celebration, justifying his years-long clampdown on LGBTQ rights on "child protection" grounds.
But the opposition-run Budapest city hall decided to co-host the march so it could go ahead.
"I am proud to be gay... and I am very scared that the government wants to bring us down," one participant, 66-year-old Zoltan, told AFP.
I am very surprised that there are so many people, I want to cry," he added. He declined to give his full name.
- 'Big embarrassment' -
Orban said Friday that while police would not break up the Pride march, those who took part should be aware of "legal consequences".
Parade organisers risk up to a year in prison, and attendees can face fines up to 500 euros ($590).
The latest legal changes also empower the authorities to use facial-recognition technology to identify those taking part, and cameras have recently been installed on lamp posts along the parade route.
Szabolcs Pek, lead analyst at research centre Iranytu Institute, said it would be difficult for Orban's Fidesz party to respond to the high turnout.
"This is a big embarrassment for Fidesz," he told AFP.
The march began chaotically under a scorching sun. Marchers repeatedly had to pause to wait for police to stop traffic, according to AFP journalists at the scene.
"I definitely wanted to come, if only to show my solidarity, and to show how important this issue is -- not only to me, but to almost everyone living in Budapest," economics student Marcell Szanto, 22, told AFP.
Dozens of European lawmakers also attended in defiance of the ban.
- 'Love can't be banned' -
"Freedom and love can't be banned," read one huge poster put up near city hall, the gathering point for the march.
Earlier this week, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called on the Hungarian authorities to reverse the ban.
Thirty-three nations, including most EU countries, have also released a statement in support of the march.
And at a news conference Saturday, several French MEPs called on the EU to take tougher measures against Orban's government over the crackdown on civil rights and other rule-of-law issues.
Since Orban's return to power in 2010, the country of 9.6 million people has been steadily rolling back LGBTQ rights.
It is the first EU nation to ban a Pride march, and Orban has said he has been emboldened by the anti-diversity push by US President Donald Trump.
Some people also gathered along the route to protest LGBTQ rights, in demonstrations called by far-right groups, one of which featured a wooden cross adorned with protest messages.
But opposition leader Peter Magyar said on Facebook that the government "scored not a goal, but a huge own goal with their attempt to ban today's event".
Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony in a post noting the big turnout thanked Orban "for advertising for a more tolerant society".
One woman, who gave only her first name, Katalin, told AFP she agreed with the ban though she hoped there would be no clashes.
"Disgusting... it's become a fad to show off ourselves," she said.
ros-bg-jza/jj
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Kremlin says anti-government protests in Serbia could be an attempted 'colour revolution'
MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Monday that it could not rule out the possibility that anti-government protests in Serbia, a close Russian ally, could be an attempted "colour revolution", but that it was sure the Serbian leadership could restore calm. Serbian police on Saturday clashed with anti-government protesters demanding snap elections and an end to the 12-year rule of President Aleksandar Vucic. "Despite the fact that Serbia is, of course, under unprecedented pressure - we cannot rule out that well-known methods are being used there to provoke colour revolutions," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "We have no doubt that the current Serbian leadership will be able to restore law and order in the republic in the very near future," he added. Russia has traditionally regarded Vucic as a close ally and the Serbian leader was in Moscow on May 9 to watch the Red Square military parade held to commemorate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. Months of protests across Serbia, including university shutdowns, have rattled Vucic, a populist, whose second term ends in 2027, when there are also parliamentary elections scheduled. Vucic said unspecified "foreign powers" were behind the protest on Saturday and that protesters had been attempting to "topple Serbia" but had failed.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Why Defense Stocks Are Likely To Keep On Rolling
Nuclear submarine produced by BAE Systems in Britain. Although European defense stocks have already ... More advance strongly, increased spending on defense may propel them further. Photo by Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images) he defense stocks I recommended in this column in June 2023 returned 118% in two years. That's a fat return, but I don't think it's time to take profits yet. 'Vladimir Putin invades Ukraine and saber-rattles about nuclear weapons,' I wrote on June 26, 2023. 'Xi Jinping says he wants his military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Then there's Iran and North Korea. Both implacably dislike the U.S. and are formidably armed.' Thanks to Israeli and U.S. bombardment of strategic sites, Iran is a little less formidably armed now. But I don't think it likes us any better. U.S. relations with Russia are as bad as they were in mid-2023, and our relationship with China is probably worse. All in all, I believe that defense stocks are still timely. Europe is rapidly increasing its defense spending, both in response to threats from Vladimir Putin's Russia and in response to redoubled pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump has flatly stated that he is unwilling to see the U.S. defense European allies who spend skimpily on the military. No wonder, then, that European defense companies were the best gainers among the six stocks I recommended. Leonardo SpA (FINMY), the largest defense company in Italy, returned 420% in the two years from June 26, 2023 to June 26, 2025. BAE Systems Plc (BAESY), a British defense giant, returned 133% including dividends. The next best gainer, with a 95% return, was Ducommun Inc. (DCO), a small U.S. defense and aerospace company. Other gains were more moderate: 43% in General Dynamics Corp. (GD), 14% in Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) and 7% in Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT). For comparison, the Standard & Poor's 500 Total Return Index returned 46% in the two-year period. Bear in mind that my column results are hypothetical and shouldn't be confused with results I obtain for clients. Also, past performance doesn't predict the future. One defense stock that I like is Dassault Aviation SA, a French manufacturer of military jets. It increased its earnings almost 15% a year over the past decade, and 39% last year. At 28 times recent earnings (18 times estimated 2026 earnings), this stock is far from cheap. However, the pressures for European countries to increase defense spending are immense. Another thing I like about Dassault is that it has very little debt, with borrowings equal to only about 4% of the company's net worth. Babcock International Group Plc (BCKIY), headquartered in London, isn't totally a defense company: It services nuclear plants. However, more than half its business is military -- taking care of nuclear reactors on submarines. Unlike Dassault, Babcock has a high ratio of debt to equity, 190%. The earnings history is spotty, with losses in three of the past 15 fiscal years. Earnings spurted in the latest year (ended in March 2025). Ahead, analysts see continued progress but at a slower pace than in 2024-2025. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has set a goal for Britain to spend 5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on national defense. That would be a huge increase from recent levels around 2.3%. BAE Systems is the largest defense company in Britain, and also has revenue streams from the U.S., Canada, Australia and Saudi Arabia. It makes electronic warfare equipment, tanks, ships and fighter jets. The stock has climbed 53% in the past year and 153% in the past three years. China has a huge advantage over the U.S. in shipbuilding capacity. It would take years to fully equalize, but Congress may want to take steps in that direction. If so, one beneficiary would be Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., (HII), which builds destroyers and amphibious landing ships. Huntington Ingalls had revenue of $11.5 billion last year, but its market value is only a bit above $9 billion. That ratio to me suggests a bargain. Also, the stock sells for 17 times earnings, while many defense stocks fetch 40 times earnings or more. I've owned Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) stock in the past, and been mildly disappointed. The stock price has advanced only 5% a year in the past five years (but 8% with dividends). Nonetheless, Lockheed shares deserve consideration for two reasons. Lockheed conducts a lot of top-secret research at its famous 'Skunkworks.' And its profitability is unusually high, with an 83% return on equity in the past 12 months. On the downside, it carries a heavy dollop of debt. Lockheed shares sell for just under 20 times earnings. Disclosure: I own Dassault, Babcock, General Dynamics and BAE Systems personally and for most of my clients.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Germany, Ukraine boost defence cooperation with high-level Kiev talks
Germany and Ukraine are aiming to boost cooperation in the defence sector, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Monday at a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha in Kiev. "Our defence cooperation is a real trump card," Wadephul said on his first visit to the Ukrainian capital since taking office last month. "It is a logical continuation of our material supplies and we can benefit from it on both sides," he added. "With your wealth of ideas and experience, we will also become better." Wadephul was accompanied in Kiev by high-ranking representatives of German defence companies. Talks between business representatives from both countries and with Ukrainian decision-makers were to take place on the fringes of the visit, according to the German Foreign Office. Wadephul said he would take the defence executives to a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky planned for the afternoon. "I believe it is in both sides' interests that we work more closely together here," he said. The aim is to establish new joint ventures in the defence industry "so that Ukraine can produce faster and more for its own defence," the foreign minister said. After initially supplying mainly weapons, German companies are now increasingly needed in the country, he explained. "There is a willingness to do this, but some obstacles still need to be overcome, bureaucratic obstacles and other problems for the cooperation." Sybiha warned that the Russian armed forces of today are different from those that initially invaded Ukraine in 2022. "They are gaining experience, they are also using new technologies on the battlefield," he said. This is a danger not only for Ukraine, but also for "trans-Atlantic security," Sybiha stated, warning that new air defence systems are needed to protect the cities that are particularly at risk.
