The annual Paris Pride March, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, began on Saturday afternoon with a notably political tone.
“We are in a threatening, politically dire context. For the first time in years, our rights are genuinely at risk,” stated Julia Torlet, president of SOS Homophobie, speaking near the Louvre.
“It is necessary for us all—lesbians, queers, intersex, trans, gay—to come together,” she added. “The rise of a reactionary international movement is happening before our eyes, in the United States, Hungary, Italy, and Russia,” warned a representative from Aides, echoing the march’s slogan “against the reactionary international,” also displayed on the leading banner amid numerous rainbow flags and balloons.
“The current climate is challenging, with a resurgence of transphobia globally. In Budapest, they are attempting to ban the march, and an extreme-right group tries to join us in Paris,” lamented Vivi Strobel, spokesperson for the Bi’Cause association.
Journalists from AFP reported that on Saturday, tens of thousands began marching in Budapest in a festive atmosphere, defying the banning of Budapest’s pride march.
Organisers hope to set new mobilisation records, expecting 35,000 participants, challenging nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The Paris march, organised by Inter-LGBT, comprising around fifty member associations, will conclude with a stage performance featuring various artists over several hours.
Pride marches occur throughout France, often in June, linked to the Stonewall riots, a foundational event for the LGBT+ movement, which erupted on the nights of June 27-28, 1969, in New York.
