Dutch politician Geert Wilders, Rassemblement National leader Marine Le Pen, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, and Belgian politician Tom Van Grieken at the first Patriotic Gathering at the Millenaris Cultural Center in Budapest, March 23, 2026. ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP
Following municipal elections in France where her party did not perform as strongly as she had hoped, Rassemblement National (RN) leader Marine Le Pen traveled to Budapest on Monday, March 23, to show her support for her "friend" Viktor Orban ahead of Hungary's legislative elections on April 12. The nationalist prime minister is struggling in the polls and has been holding large international rallies to demonstrate to his voters that "he is not isolated" on the European political stage.
On Monday, during what was billed as the "first major assembly" of the Patriots for Europe, the leaders of this far-right group in the Strasbourg Parliament showered him with praise. "Viktor Orban is a visionary, and above all a pioneer," declared Marine Le Pen, touting "a Hungary that has become a symbol of a proud people" before hundreds of loyalists from Fidesz, Orban's party, while the press was kept at a distance behind barriers and a tough security detail.
