Thousands of people marched on Sunday September 11 in Belgrade against the Europride outfit.
While this pan-European gathering of the LGBTQ community is due to take place from September 12 to 18 in the Serbian capital, the opposition is raging.
To discover
OUR FILE - Elizabeth II, a rock and a symbol for England
Among the opponents: clerics from the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), traditionalist and far-right groups.
Equipped with icons, religious flags and crosses, the demonstrators tried a feat to push the government to ban this week "
of festivities
", according to the organizers.
Equipped with icons, religious flags and crosses, the demonstrators attempted a tour de force to push the government to ban this week
of “festivities
”.
ZORANA JEVTIC / REUTERS
While Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced at the end of August that the parade would be "
postponed or canceled
", the police have until Tuesday, September 13 to announce whether or not the pride march, the culmination of Europride, will be maintained.
Organizers criticized the move, saying the government had no right to cancel the Pride march.
For the president, these are not only "
security
" reasons, linked to a new rise in tensions in Kosovo, but also energy reasons.
The first two Belgrade Pride Marches, in 2001 and 2010, were marred by violence.
The parade has been organized regularly since 2014, but with a large presence of law enforcement.
Despite an increase in tensions in recent weeks in the country, the organizers of Europride are determined to maintain this week of festivities, the culmination of which must be the pride march on Saturday 17 September.