Saturday 28 June 2025. The sun was beating down on the cobblestones of Budapest, but it was the 200,000 people gathered in the Hungarian capital who were electrifying Europe. Budapest Pride 2025, banned by Viktor Orbán’s government, was held against all the odds. Not only did it take place, but it has gone down in history as one of the greatest acts of transnational civic disobedience in Europe.
Budapest Pride 2025: an unprecedented European mobilisation in the face of Orbán’s repression
Orbán’s regime promised repression. What it got was humiliation. Citizens from all over the European Union – Germany, Poland, France, the Czech Republic and Italy – converged in Budapest to defend LGBTQIA+ rights in a country where they are now criminalised. The government had banned Pride on the grounds of “child protection” and “public decency”. The demonstrators responded with a human tide of rainbows and blue stars.
Hundreds of European flags flew under the LGBTQIA+ flags. The message was clear: this demonstration was not just about Orbán. It was aimed at the whole of the European Union. What was at stake went beyond Hungary: it was the future of democratic values, individual freedoms and the European project itself.
Article 2 of the EU Treaty trampled underfoot in broad daylight
Hungary, a member of the EU since 2004, has signed up to the Copenhagen criteria: democracy, rule of law, respect for minorities. Today, it is in breach of Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, with no real consequences. The laws passed by the Hungarian Parliament since 2024 prohibit any “promotion” of homosexuality among minors, restrict LGBTQIA+ public events, and even criminalise the holding of a march.
This situation is morally bankrupt for Europe. Because if the EU tolerates the persecution of a part of its population by a Member State, then it is giving up on itself.
A strong political response from the streets and the European Parliament
More than 70 MEPs were present in the procession. Manon Aubry, chair of the Left in the European Parliament delegation, said: “This Pride is an act of resistance. A popular, European and dignified response to authoritarianism. Europe is not about repression. Europe is about the freedom to love and be who you are.
He was joined by members of the Greens, the Social Democrats and The Left. This political unity reflects the seriousness of the moment: the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights has become a fight to save the foundations of the European project. Even Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, spoke out beforehand: “You have the right to love who you want and to be exactly who you are. In Europe, demonstrating for your rights is a fundamental freedom.
The mayor of Budapest, a figure of democratic resistance
Without the courage of the Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, this event would never have taken place. By declaring Pride a “municipal event”, he circumvented the national ban, taking on the political responsibility of defending fundamental freedoms in his city.
Present in the procession, he praised the “dignity and courage of the demonstrators”, saying that “Budapest belongs to those who defend freedom, equality and solidarity”.
His actions made him a central figure in the democratic resistance in Central Europe.
Orbán isolated, the European Union backed into a corner
For his part, Viktor Orbán described the march as “repugnant”, accusing Brussels of having “orchestrated” it. But it was his words that revealed the extent of his isolation. Because beyond the words, it was the street that spoke. It was not just LGBTQIA+ activists who defied the ban, but a broad, European, transnational coalition of citizens.
The question is now clear: will the European Union remain a spectator? Or will it take concrete action against a Member State that violates its commitments? Because the credibility of the EU is at stake.
