Overview

• Cologne’s Christopher Street Day parade concluded Saturday with an estimated 60,000 to 65,000 participants, 250 groups, and 90 floats protected by a heavy police presence.
• Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Bundestag President Julia Klöckner attended the event and defended the decision not to fly the rainbow flag at the Reichstag, with Merz calling the parliament “no circus tent.”
• CSU parliamentary leader Alexander Hoffmann accused the Greens of a queerphobic migration policy while Greens criticized the Union’s stance on LGBTQ rights.
• Berlin CSD organizers say the queer community faces mounting pressure from political signals, rising hate crimes, and attacks on safe spaces like clubs and bars.
• A new Regenbogenschutzfonds and expanded police training have been established in response to a 24 percent year-on-year surge in queerphobic crimes.