Tight security as thousands gather for far-right Polish march

WARSAW: Poland deployed extra police in the capital Warsaw as thousands of far-right supporters, expected to include many from across Europe, gathered for an annual march on Wednesday against a backdrop of political tension over a mass shooting in Krakow.

The Independence Day march has long caused friction between right-wing parties and the now-ruling centrists, who say it is a platform for racism and antisemitism. Participants deny those allegations, saying that the gathering, held under the motto “A Pole is the host in Poland,” is an expression of national pride.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk appealed for restraint amid sharper-than-usual political divisions after ministers outraged nationalists by saying the man ⁠who killed six ⁠people in the main square of Krakow may have been motivated by far-right ideology.