Hungary and Poland defend tough migration policies as France reels from violent unrest
As images of burning cars and historic buildings in France and Italy ricochet across Europe, leaders in Hungary and Poland are seizing the moment, not to address the unrest, but to redefine the migration debate.Both Hungary and Poland have laid down markers on allowing migrants into their nations.Even to the point of being fined and sanctioned by the European Union courts for refusing to open their gates to unchecked immigration, in Hungary’s case under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, while Poland faced sanctions in 2025.Eurostat’s latest available figures show that in 2025 France had almost 10 million and Italy about 7 million foreign-born residents.
Poland had roughly 1 million foreign-born residents, while Hungary had less than 700,000, with most born in other EU countries and in Poland’s case about half came from Ukraine.TRUMP, WALTZ LINK FRANCE RIOTS TO MASS IMMIGRATION AS THOUSANDS ARE ARRESTEDPoland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk (L) and Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar shake hands ahead of a round table as part of a European Union summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels on October 16, 2026.EU leaders headed to Brussels on October 15, 2026, for their biggest clash yet over the bloc's next long-term budget, as they race to lock in a deal before next year's French presidential election.
(Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP via Getty Images) (Ludovic Marin / AFP via Getty Images)Reacting to the violence, Hungary’s Prime Minister Péter Magyar posted on X that, "Europe can count on Hungary." He stated that, "In the face of this senseless destruction and unjustified violence, perhaps it is now clear to everyone why Hungary advocates the strictest possible approach to migration, and why we will not weaken our border protection or immigration policy under any pressure."It is a sentiment echoed by Magyar’s Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk posted: "Poland will not repeat the mistakes of other European countries, nor will it pay for them," he wrote on Sun...