60,000 nationalists take to the streets for Poland’s independence day celebrations

A demonstration organised by far-right groups in Warsaw, Poland, attracted tens of thousands of attendees who threw red smoke bombs and marched with burning flags and inflammatory slogans.

The demonstration dominated over other Independence day events in the country, a reflection of the current trend of far-right sentiment in Europe.

Many of the demonstrators expressed far-right ideas with a number of banners displaying xenophobic and white supremacist ideas, focusing particularly on support for a ‘white Europe’ free of refugees. Phrases such as 'pure Poland, white Poland' were shouted during the march.

Some of the ideas portrayed were in support of Polish Catholic values, with slogans such as 'We Want God' and 'Catholic Poland, not secular'.

A small counter-protest also took place, with the two groups being kept apart in order to avoid confrontation. 

Independence day is taken seriously in Poland, which was wiped off the map for over 120 years prior to 1918. The ruling party leader, Jaroslaw Kacyzynski, referred to it as "a very important day in [Polish] history".