Police Arrest More than 300 after Far-Right Clashes in Warsaw

Officers in riot gear used pepper spray to break up scuffles during Wednesday’s Independence Day march - a regular point of friction between far-right groups and supporters of the nationalist government on one side, and their liberal opponents on the other.

People in the crowd threw bricks and flares at officers, police spokesman Sylwester Marczak said. Violence flared in the city center and towards the end of the march near the National Stadium, recently converted into a COVID-19 field hospital.

Organizers said people would drive through the capital’s main roads this year, to get round a ban from city hall imposed to try and contain the pandemic. However, thousands of people marched on foot through central Warsaw in addition to those driving, Reuters reported.

“There were a number of flares, dangerous objects thrown towards the policemen and posing a threat to the policemen. There were 35 policemen hurt,” Marczak said.

Most of the detained people had already been released, he added.