Eurotopics.net

Every year on 11 November tens of thousands of far-right sympathisers gather in Warsaw for their March of Independence to mark Poland's Independence Day, and each time the event has been a source of concern for commentators. Last year the ruling PiS party did not get involved, but this year it helped challenge a court ban on the event. The press is outraged.

A growing number of European countries are seeing a surge in Covid infection rates and reintroducing restrictions. Because the vaccination quotas achieved so far have failed to prevent a new wave of infections, calls for mandatory vaccination are gaining momentum. Many governments had ruled such a measure out due to concerns about fundamental rights. Commentators discuss whether the time for this has come now.

The situation at the Polish-Belarusian border is worsening. Two large groups of migrants broke through the border fence on Tuesday, despite the massive military and police presence. Most of them were sent back to Belarus. Poland is now considering closing all border crossings to Belarus, and Lukashenka has threatened to block gas supplies to Europe. Europe's press is worried by the escalation.

The French elections in April 2022 are drawing closer. On Monday the first TV debate among the conservative primary candidates took place, Macron's televised address on Tuesday already was already focused on his election platform, and on the extreme right Eric Zemmour - not yet an official candidate - is slowly outpacing Marine Le Pen. Europe's press discusses the extent to which they are all fighting for the same votes.