Poles hold large anti-government protest in favour of EU

Thousands of people marched today in central Warsaw to show their opposition to the policies of the conservative government which they view as anti-democratic and harmful to Poland's position in the European Union (EU).
The march was held under the motto "We are and will remain in Europe" and comes just days after the 12th anniversary of Poland joining the EU.
It was organised by the opposition party, Civic Platform, and the civic group, Committee for the Defense of Democracy, known in Poland as KOD.
KOD was created in November, shortly after Law and Justice took power and began taking steps that have weakened the Constitutional Tribunal. The moves have been condemned by the EU and the Council of Europe, a human rights group, which says the government in Warsaw is eroding the rule of law as it centralises power.

The civic rights organisation has since organised a number of anti-government marches and today's was a test of whether the protest movement is maintaining its momentum. Televised images of the march appeared to show a large turnout, but there were no immediate estimates of the crowd's size.
Meanwhile, a counter-protest was also taking place in Warsaw today in a show of support for Law and Justice, whose leaders argue that they have a right to make deep changes in Polish society because they won elections last year.
The party remains popular and many of its supporters object to the anti-government protests that have been held over past months, accusing organisers of trying to destabilise Poland.