Posted on 11/11/2026 10:50:14 AM PST by Cronos
Thousands of people have marched through central Warsaw to mark Poland’s Independence Day amid heightened security following a deadly mass shooting in Krakow and political tensions over a constitutional crisis.
The rally in the capital has in previous years attracted far-right demonstrators and has been blighted by violence. But officials have not so far reported any major disturbances at Wednesday's event.
Organizers estimated that turnout could have reached up to 1 million people, but Warsaw's municipal public safety agency put attendance at up to 250,000. City Hall last year put turnout at around 100,000, while organizers claimed it was three times higher.
The annual march comes as Poland celebrates the restoration of its independence in 1918 after 123 years of partition by Russia, Prussia and Austria. This year marks the 108th anniversary of that landmark event.
The Warsaw rally began at 2:30 p.m. local time, with crowds waving Polish flags and wearing scarves in red and white as they made their way through the city center toward the National Stadium.
Poland’s nationalist president, Karol Nawrocki, joined the procession, held under a slogan meaning that Poles should be masters in their own country.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Nawrocki’s centrist political rival, attended a separate Independence Day event in the northwestern city of Szczecin, where he called for national unity following the mass
shooting in Krakow on Saturday.
“We have been through some difficult days. Our entire history is marked by both joyful and challenging times, but on November 11, all our hearts are white and red,” Tusk said, referring to the colors of Poland’s national flag.
Heightened security
Police deployed additional officers from across Poland to secure the march in Warsaw, which came four days after a gunman killed six people and wounded 15 others in Krakow’s Main Market Square, a popular tourist destination that draws visitors from around the world.
The incident, which was followed by two days of national mourning, sent shockwaves across a country where such attacks are virtually unheard of in modern times.
Warsaw authorities banned drones, weapons and pyrotechnics during the Warsaw rally but, as in previous years, participants were seen setting off flares and smoke bombs despite the restrictions.
Organizers said nearly 1,000 security personnel and about 200 mobile medical responders would help oversee the procession.
Warsaw’s liberal mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski, urged participants to march peacefully, stressing that public safety was the priority.
Politically divisive
Organized by nationalist groups and drawing large numbers of football supporters, the Independence March in Warsaw has grown into a major rallying point for the political right.
Supporters see it as a celebration of national sovereignty and traditional values, while critics accuse organizers of providing a platform for extremist views.
At Wednesday's march, members of the far-right National Radical Camp (ONR) carried a banner reading “Make Europe White Again,” while other participants displayed anti-immigration messages.
Previous marches have featured racist, ultranationalist and homophobic slogans and have at times been marred by clashes with police, arson and vandalism.
The event has become highly political, drawing support from the main opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party. The smaller, far-right Confederation party, which has been gaining support in opinion polls, also has strong links to the nationalist circles behind the march.
Organizers had expected a record turnout this year, with a bitter dispute over Poland's Constitutional Tribunal providing an additional rallying point for right-wingers.
The row over judicial appointments at the top court has pitted Tusk's centrist governing coalition against Nawrocki, who is backed by PiS.
Tensions escalated last month when the Tribunal's most senior judge suspended its opposition-aligned president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and assumed control of the court.
The move followed Nawrocki's refusal to swear in five judges elected to the Tribunal by parliament, where Tusk's pro-EU coalition holds a majority.
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Pilsudski flirted with the ideas of an independent Ukraine and Belarus, but when those two quickly faded and were occupied by Soviets, he gave up that idea
The guy that did the “deadly mass shooting in Krakow” had a rainbow flag on his facebook home page. It has since been scrubbed from the internet.
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