Tens of thousands of people have been protesting in Budapest over Hungary's controversial new constitution, a day after it came into force. The country's governing Fidesz party pushed the law through parliament in April after winning a two-thirds majority in parliamentary elections.
Opponents say it threatens democracy by removing checks and balances set up in 1989 when Communism fell. The EU and US had also asked for the law to be withdrawn. The dispute has cast doubt over talks on a new financing agreement with the EU and IMF, seen as vital for market confidence in the central European country.
Several centre-left opposition parties joined in the protests, held near a gala event organised by the government to celebrate the new constitution. The governing Fidesz party controls 68% of seats in parliament, but the streets now belong to the opposition. Nearly every day there are new demonstrations against one aspect or another of government policy - the new constitution, economic policy, the centralisation of the state media, or the closing of an opposition radio station.
Protesters chanted slogans denouncing the centre-right Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, and carried placards denouncing his "dictatorship" as officials arrived for the event. "Viktor Orban and his servants turned Hungary from a promising place to the darkest spot in Europe," said Socialist MP Tibor Szanyi, quoted by AFP news agency.