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 Hungarys case under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, while Poland faced sanctions in 2025.

Eurostats 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 Polands case about half came from Ukraine.

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Reacting to the violence, Hungarys 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 Magyars Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk posted: "Poland will not repeat the mistakes of other European countries, nor will it pay for them," he wrote on Sunday night. "We are firmly defending the border against illegal migration, we have our own asylum policy (we do not accept applications), we deport those who break Polish law. On security issues, we will be relentless." 

Sweden-based political scientist Daniel Schatz told Fox News Digital, "Burning buildings and looted shops in France and other countries are becoming political ammunition across Europe… Leaders pushing tougher immigration policies have a blunt message for voters at home: This is what we intend to prevent. Images of chaos can carry more political weight than a hundred policy speeches."

According to the latest available crime statistics from Eurostat, the European Unions official statistical office, in 2024 France reported 304,900 police-recorded offenses, among the highest totals in the EU. Italy reported 142,600, while Poland with 57,300 and Hungarys 28,600 were among the lowest totals in Europe. This as Eurostats 2023 "perception metric," or what percentage of people report crime or vandalism in their areas, showed France was again among the highest with about 20%, Italy reported 14-17%, Poland 7-8%, and Hungary at 6-7%.

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"In Central and Eastern European countries, the riots in France are linked to immigration and to the issue of non-adaptation and non-integration of immigrants," Boštjan Udovič, Chair of International Relations at the University of Ljubljanas Faculty of Social Sciences in Slovenia, told Fox News Digital.

"Magyar and Tusk are delivering a blunt message to Brussels," Schatz added, "being pro-European does not mean signing up for liberal