Tens of thousands join nationalist Independence March in Warsaw
Tens of thousands of people today took part in the annual Independence March in Warsaw. The event, which is organised by nationalist groups but attended by both mainstream conservatives as well as more radical elements, passed peacefully.
This year’s march took place under the slogan “Poland is not yet lost”, the famous opening line of the Polish national anthem. Organisers and participants placed a particular emphasis on anti-EU rhetoric.
“We see a threat from the West; we see that the EU is pursuing federalisation more and more aggressively,” Bartosz Malewski, head of the Independence March Association, told the crowd as they gathered at Warsaw’s Dmowski Roundabout.
“This means the liquidation of nation-states and the loss of sovereignty,” he declared. “We say a resounding ‘no’ to these attempts.”
As in previous years, far-right groups and leaders from abroad were also present at the march. Among them was Paul Golding, leader of Britain First, who posted images of himself in Warsaw today with Dominik Tarczyński, an MEP from Poland’s ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Golding has been imprisoned in Britain for his anti-Muslim activities. He was also convicted in 2020 under anti-terrorism laws for refusing to allow the police access to his phone after returning from a visit to Moscow, where he had been invited to the Russian parliament.
Natalia, a 21-year-old student attending with her aunt, Alicja, 40, said that, while EU membership brings some benefits – especially financial ones as well as helping Poland “open up to the world” – it also has many drawbacks.
“This power from Europe, which tries to influence Poland, very much limits us as Poles,” she told Notes from Poland.
“We have a different culture, consciousness and needs. These European influences take away our ability to decide what is important for the Polish people. This was the case with the pandemic and vaccinations.”