It was considered the “largest patriotic demonstration in Europe” and was overshadowed by the right-wing extremists’ recent election defeat.
Thousands joined a march by nationalist groups in the Polish capital Warsaw in what organizers called the “largest patriotic demonstration in Europe.”
Participants carried Poland’s white and red flag and some lit torches and held Celtic crosses as they marched on a route that led from the city center to the national stadium on Saturday.
The event, held every year to mark Poland’s Independence Day, came less than a month after the pro-European opposition won a majority in parliamentary elections.
While many patriotic events take place each year across the country of 38 million, the annual Independence March dominates coverage as it is sometimes overshadowed by xenophobic slogans and violence.
The event has in the past attracted far-right sympathizers from other European countries, including Hungary and Italy. This year’s participants included Paul Golding, the leader of Britain First, a small far-right party in the United Kingdom.
Football fans were prominent among the demonstrators, some holding up banners with right-wing extremist slogans. Anti-abortion groups were also present at the event, where Christian symbols were on display.
Police removed climate protesters who lined up along the march route.
A participant in Poland’s Independence Day march organized by nationalist groups holds a crucifix in Warsaw, Poland, November 11, 2023 [Wojtek Radwanski/AFP]Lower voter turnout
This year’s event was attended by around 40,000 visitors and was peaceful, said Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski.
This came as nationalist forces saw their worldview rejected by voters. In October’s elections, large numbers of voters voted for centrist, moderate conservative and left-wing parties, after eight years of rule by a national conservative party at odds with the European Union.
In recent years, the annual independence march has attracted up to 250,000 participants.
The lower turnout was the result of internal divisions among the rally’s leaders as well as a spectacular electoral defeat last month by the far-right Confederation Party, traditionally allied with the event.
The party won only 18 seats in the Sejm, Poland’s 460-seat parliament. Meanwhile, Law and Justice (PiS), the ruling right-wing nationalist party whose leaders have joined the march in the past, won the most votes but fell short of a parliamentary majority.
Many on the political right believe that the election results, in which the coalition of the liberal Civic Platform, the conservative Third Way and the left-wing Lewica emerged victorious, will lead to a gradual erosion of the country’s independence.
“We can most likely expect a change in the EU treaties that will affect Poland’s sovereignty and independence at the international level and especially within the EU [European Union]Bartosz Malewski, chairman of the Independence March Association, told reporters in October.
“This slogan also expresses our position on the need to emphasize sovereignty and threats to sovereignty.”
Other march participants agree.
Grzegorz Cwik of the nationalist Niklot Association told Al Jazeera he feared the “federalization of the European Union, cuts in military spending and the dismantling of social programs.”
On Friday, the country’s opposition parties signed a coalition agreement paving the way for them to form a new government after securing a majority of votes last month. But they have to wait.
President Andrzej Duda gave PiS, which received more votes than any other party in the elections, its first attempt at forming a government.
Donald Tusk, the opposition coalition’s candidate to become the next prime minister, appealed for national unity in a message on X, stressing that the holiday belongs to all Poles.
“When someone uses the word nation to divide and sow hatred, they are acting against the nation,” said Tusk, who did not join the march. “Today our nation celebrates independence. The whole nation, all of Poland.”
Independence Day celebrates the restoration of Poland’s national sovereignty in 1918, at the end of World War I and after 123 years of rule by Prussia, Austria and Russia.