Catalans among 200,000 to defy Hungarian PM in massive Pride march in Budapest

Catalans were among the strong contingent of the European LGBTIQ+ community standing up to Viktor Orbán's far-right government's ban on the Pride march in a demonstration that drew 200,000 people on Saturday in Budapest.

Defying a new law in Hungary that bans the Pride march, the ecologist mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, is risking jail to host the demonstration.

Mayors, MPs, and human rights defenders from all over Europe, including several Catalan and Spanish politicians, attended to show their support.

The presence of European leaders will "give us security too," according to Dorottya Rédai, director of the Labrizs Lesbian Association, in statements to the Catalan News Agency (ACN) ahead of the rally.

The mayor of Budapest warned that the protest route may see last-minute changes to avoid clashes with far-right counter-demonstrations, which have been given police authorization, unlike the Pride parade.

Rédai admits that the situation is still “very confusing” legally due to appeals and discrepancies between the Budapest City Council and the Orbán government. 

The demonstrators marched peacefully for hours with a festive but demanding attitude, especially when met with a far-right group made up of a few dozen people.

Just behind the main float of the parade, the mayor of the capital, Gergely Karácsony, led the march accompanied by Spain's vice-president Yolanda Díaz as well as the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun.

Support from Catalonia

A delegation of Catalan MPs also took part in the march, including its first vice-president Raquel Sans, as well as MPs Sara Jaurrieta (PSC), Ennatu Domingo (Junts), Tània Verge (ERC), and Susanna Segovia (Comuns).

Along with the mayors of Paris, Athens, and Amsterdam, the mayor of Barcelona, ​​Jaume Collboni, will be in attendance.

Collboni was there to reaffirm “Barcelona’s commitment to defending human rights, individual freedoms, and the democratic values ​​inherent in Europe,” the city council said in a statement.

Also in attendance were several leaders of Sumar and Comuns, such as former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau and MEP Jaume Asens.

The European Parliament sent about 70 MEPs, including the Socialist Iratxe García and the Podemos leader Irene Montero.