Tens of thousands of Hungarians have demonstrated in Budapest against low pay and poor working conditions for teachers, who have launched an "I want to teach" campaign and called for civil disobedience to demand higher wages.
The demonstration on October 5 started with students forming a chain stretching for kilometers across Budapest, and students temporarily blocking a downtown bridge in the morning.
The protest later grew into the biggest anti-government demonstration since Prime Minister Viktor Orban's reelection in April.
Protesters carried posters that read "We are with our teachers" and "No teachers, no future." One banner said, "Do not fire our teachers" and another said, "For a glimpse of the future, look at the schools of the present."
The demonstration was organized by civilians in solidarity with teachers who were fired due to civil disobedience actions.
Orban's government has said it can only meet teachers' demands once the European Union releases billions of euros of long-held-up pandemic recovery funds.
Brussels has not yet signed off on the release because of corruption concerns and rule-of-law disputes.
A month ago, thousands demonstrated for better working conditions for teachers, some of whom temporarily stopped work in protest as schools reopened after summer recess.
