The demonstration is part of JEF Europe’s annual campaign to raise awareness about the growing threats facing democratic societies in Europe and around the world.

It calls on citizens and policymakers alike to defend democratic institutions, fundamental rights, and the rule of law.

Twenty years of defending democracy

The Democracy under Pressure campaign has its roots in 2006, when JEF Europe launched the “Free Belarus Action” to draw international attention to the repression of freedoms under the Lukashenka regime.

In 2014, as authoritarian tendencies spread across the continent and democratic backsliding became impossible to ignore, the campaign was broadened and renamed “Democracy under Pressure”.

Since 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the campaign has also operated under the name “Democracy under Attack”. This is due to the direct assault that took place on a sovereign nation and also on the democratic values it sought to uphold.

In many places, democracy is no longer just under pressure but is directly under attack.

Since the start, the campaign has mobilised young federalists in cities across Europe every year, confronting the systematic erosion of democratic norms wherever it occurs.

Democracy cannot be taken for granted

Democracy does not collapse overnight. It erodes gradually through the spread of disinformation, the intimidation of journalists, the shrinking of civic space, and the normalisation of populist narratives that undermine the foundations of pluralism and the rule of law.

Civil society organisations face mounting pressure. Independent media is threatened. Authoritarian regimes are emboldened. And the citizens and activists who dare to speak up against oppression are too often left without support.

Join us this Saturday

JEF Luxembourg invites everyone who shares a commitment to democratic values to join the demonstration on Saturday 28 March.

People across Europe are standing up in the streets against autocracy. This Saturday, Luxembourg stands with them.

We stand for a free, federal, and democratic Europe. And we believe that democracy is not only enshrined in institutions. It lives in people — people who choose to show up.

Event details

Date : Saturday 28 March 2026
Time : 14:00
Location : Place de Clairefontaine, Luxembourg City