Hungary's PM Vows to Keep Strict Migration Policy After Unrest in France

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Sunday that his country will not change its strict migration policy, commenting on the unrest in France. He made the remarks on the social platform X, pointing to events in Paris and other French cities, where demonstrations on Saturday against the cost of living and declining quality of education services turned into riots.

What happened in France

Groups of protesters vandalised public buildings, looted shops and clashed with police. At least 2,000 people were detained in connection with the unrest, and more than 600 police officers and other state employees were injured.

Magyar's statement

Magyar said he was shocked by videos and photos showing damage to historic buildings and violence against police. In his view, after such destruction it may now be clear to everyone why Hungary backs the toughest possible approach to migration and why it will not relax its border protection or immigration policy, regardless of pressure.

Magyar replaced long-serving leader Viktor Orbán last April after a convincing election win and has pledged to keep his predecessor's strict stance on migration. He also welcomed what he saw as a signal at last week's European Union (EU) summit that most European countries want to end the lenient policies of the past.

Tusk: Poland will not repeat mistakes

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, commenting on the situation in France, stressed that Poland will not repeat the mistakes of other countries. He said Poland firmly guards its borders against illegal migration, does not accept asylum applications and deports those who break the law.

EU divided on migration

At the EU summit in Brussels on 15 and 16 October, leaders discussed how to manage migration, and opinions differed on how strict border control should be. Poland, together with Italy and Denmark, called for a tougher policy but met resistance from countries such as Spain. Member states still cannot agree on how to strengthen the bloc's external borders and share responsibility for illegal immigrants.