Tens of thousands of people marched through the capitals of Romania and Bulgaria on Saturday, demanding legal recognition for same-sex couples in two countries that rank last among EU member states for LGBTQ+ rights. Neither Bucharest nor Sofia currently recognises same-sex marriages or civil partnerships, leaving couples without basic protections such as inheritance rights, hospital visitation, and survivor's pensions. The marches were met with rival conservative rallies in both cities, reflecting the broader tensions in these predominantly Orthodox Christian societies, where hostility toward LGBTQ+ communities has been growing in recent years.