Hungary and Poland defend tough migration policies as France reels from violent unrest

Hungary’s Péter Magyar and Poland’s Donald Tusk have used unrest in France and Italy to defend their countries’ restrictive migration policies. Their comments frame border controls and tougher rules as safeguards against disorder, adding to debate in Europe over migration, integration and national security.

The article says Hungary and Poland have faced EU sanctions over migration-related policies. Eurostat figures cited show about 10 million foreign-born residents in France and 7 million in Italy in 2025, compared with roughly 1 million in Poland and fewer than 700,000 in Hungary. It also reports lower police-recorded offence totals and lower reported perceptions of local crime or vandalism in Poland and Hungary than in France, while experts caution that images of unrest can become political ammunition.