Anti-government rally in Warsaw gathered 500,000 people

In Warsaw, more than half a million Poles gathered at an anti-government rally organized by the opposition Civic Platform party. Footage of the procession appeared online.

“There are about half a million people on the march. There are half a million of us. <…> Democracy in Poland will not die. We won’t allow that,” wrote organizers on Twitter.

Participants flock to the Castle Town Square. The footage shows that the area is completely filled with people, they crowded on the adjacent streets. According to eyewitnesses, a stampede also formed in the metro because of the huge number of people who wanted to attend the action.

The demonstrators walked along the central streets for almost two hours, while the trailers did not even have time to start moving in the column during this time. Flags of the European Union, Poland and the USA flash in the crowd. The rally is timed to coincide with the anniversary of the country’s first free parliamentary elections in 1989. The organizers explained that the Polish authorities allegedly violate the principles of democracy and freedom, make hasty decisions and pursue an anti-European policy.