Six people were killed and at least 15 others were injured in the city of Krakow, located in southern Poland, on Saturday, by shooting carried out by a gunman influenced by far-right ideas, according to what the authorities reported, in an incident that Prime Minister Donald Tusk described as a “terrorist act.”
According to Agence France-Presse, Tusk, in an interview with reporters during his inspection of the city on Saturday, confirmed that “the bodies of two women and a man were found in the perpetrator’s house,” speaking of indications that suggested that “they are members of his family.”
The Prime Minister also declared two days of mourning for the victims of the shooting incident, which he described as a “terrorist.”
For his part, Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kervinski said, “All indications suggest that the perpetrator of the attack was fascinated by far-right ideologies.”
Police reported that the suspect, a Polish man born in 2002, drove his car into Krakow's main market square and began shooting randomly at passers-by.
The police indicated that two of its officers were injured, before they opened fire on the suspect, who was taken to the hospital.
Police “heroism.”
Police chief spokesman Andrei Vigolik said the suspect used a semi-automatic rifle in the attack.
The authorities have not yet revealed the nationalities of all the victims of the deadliest attack in Poland since 1989.
Tusk said: “We have the utmost appreciation for the heroic police officers who risked their lives in the line of duty.”
On Saturday evening, Agence France-Presse reporters saw the main market square, which is usually bustling with activity, completely closed, while heavily armed police and criminal investigators examined the site of the attack.
Annette, who was at the site, told Agence France-Presse: “I saw a man shooting people while he was walking around the square. “It is a tragedy for Krakow, we have never seen anything like this before.”
Stella, a 22-year-old tourist from the city of Rennes in northwestern France, said: “It is terrifying to think that there are still such risks in Europe... risks of a terrorist nature.”
“Rare accidents”
Fatal shootings are rare in Poland, which has a population of 38 million and is a member of the European Union and NATO.
But the country has been on high alert since a series of stabbing incidents in October, which Tusk said were carried out by a “violent group” fueled by social media sites.
Poland, located on the eastern flank of the European Union and NATO, has repeatedly accused Russia of carrying out “subversive” acts since the start of Moscow’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The country is also witnessing a sharp rise in the number of firearms licenses. In 2025, more than 50,000 new licenses were issued, bringing the total to 411,000, according to police figures.
Krakow is a historical city located in southern Poland and was once its capital. It is a tourist destination visited in 2025 by more than 16 million tourists.
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For his part, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that he was "shocked and saddened by the horrific shooting."
He wrote on the “X” platform: “My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives, and to all those injured and affected by this senseless violence.”
In turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Ukraine stands in solidarity with Poland and the Polish people.” “People have the right to be safe.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed, via the “X” platform, that “Germany stands by Poland as a friend and partner during these difficult times.”
For her part, European Union foreign policy official Kaya Kallas described what happened as a “tragedy,” noting on the “X” platform that its repercussions would extend “far beyond Poland’s borders.”
The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kirilo Budanov, spoke Russian while performing his official duties, and was forced to pay a fine because of that, according to what the Commissioner for the Protection of the Official Language, Olena Ivanovska, announced on Facebook, today (Saturday), without explicitly mentioning Budanov’s name.
She wrote that the accused person admitted the violation and would pay the fine on time. The Ukrainian Language Law stipulates the imposition of fines ranging from 3,400 to 8,500 hryvnia (equivalent to 75 to 187 dollars) in the event of a first-time violation.
Budanov has not issued any comment on the incident yet.
Protests in front of a temporary military prison
However, Ivanovska referred to the incident during which President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff switched to speaking Russian.
On Monday, several hundred people demonstrated in front of a makeshift military prison in a suburb of Kiev, on suspicion that the National Guard was mistreating soldiers accused of desertion and detained there. The incident received international attention.
The Ukrainian judiciary is investigating whether members of the military forces have exceeded their powers, and is also examining suspicions related to the possibility of intentional incitement to riots.
Budanov, a former general in the intelligence service, had tried to calm the situation. A video clip shows him speaking with one of the injured demonstrators (14 years old), using Ukrainian sometimes and Russian at other times. He also responded in Russian to the injured boy's sister over the phone, and issued instructions in Russian as well.
However, this conversational stance is common in Kyiv, where many residents switch between Ukrainian and Russian in their daily lives. Even within the military, Ukrainian is the language of official orders, but many soldiers speak Russian among themselves.
Thanks to his daring intelligence operations, Budanov has the reputation of a hero in Ukraine.
But on social media, he was accused of speaking the “enemy” language, that is, Russian. The language law does not prohibit government officials from speaking Russian in their private lives, but it requires them to use the official state language, Ukrainian, while performing their official duties.
New demonstrations began in France on Saturday, “against the high cost of living and for young people,” with less participation compared to the previous three weeks, amid tight security measures, especially in Paris.
The authorities are seeking to avoid a repeat of the scenes of rioting and looting that occurred on October 17 during the demonstrations. With the exception of Paris, which is the epicenter of the movement, about 7,000 people participated in 68 demonstrations until early afternoon, which represents a “significant” decline in the volume of participation, according to the Interior Minister’s circles.
This new mobilization, which followed massive union demonstrations that took place on Thursday, aims to maintain pressure on the authorities ahead of a conference called by the government to be held on Monday morning with the participation of unions and employers, before meetings with student organizations in the afternoon.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced that a conference would be held on Monday with the participation of trade unions and employers' federations to discuss purchasing power and wages. The government indicated its intention to raise the minimum wage, and pledged to provide more educational personnel in schools and increase the funding allocated to them, while unions representing students and teachers called for a strike next Tuesday, to continue pressure on the government to increase spending on education, as part of movements that have been continuing for weeks and include school closures and protests.
These unions said in a joint statement, on Saturday, that “our movement is in a position of strength, while the government is in a position of weakness and has begun to yield,” adding: “It is time to expand the scope of the protest movements and continue pressure on the government.”
The crisis began with a movement of high school students protesting the state of national education, before demands were added regarding the high cost of living and a protest against Macron, who is leaving the presidency in May after ten years in power.
In a letter he addressed on Friday to the social partners, Lecornu stressed that he is listening to “the aspirations expressed regarding wages and purchasing power” and the “concerns” of employers, stressing that the conference “will allow for the presentation of concrete responses to the aspirations of the French.” The Federation of Youth Syndicates and local unions called for a demonstration on Saturday “against the high cost of living and for the sake of youth” as part of an authorized march heading from La Republique Square in the heart of Paris to La Nation Square. At approximately three o'clock in the afternoon, the march was progressing quietly.
For its part, the “Yellow Vests” coordination called for a separate gathering, which was banned by the authorities, in Place de la Concorde near the headquarters of the National Assembly. About 100 of them gathered at the place on Saturday afternoon. An Agence France-Presse correspondent reported that the police quickly surrounded the demonstrators, most of whom were not wearing yellow vests, and one of the movement leaders was arrested in front of the National Assembly. The “yellow vests” intend to organize about 120 movements on Saturday in various locations in France, after organizing about 1,700 movements on October 17.
Less than six months before the presidential elections led by far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, Sebastien Le Cornu's government cannot rely on a majority in the National Assembly, while President Emmanuel Macron faces a new social crisis that the radical left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon intends to exploit, whom opinion polls expect will move to the second round of elections. Melenchon is holding a huge gathering to launch his campaign.
Melenchon intends to raise the minimum wage and lower the retirement age in the country to 60 years, when he launches his program for the 2027 elections on Saturday.
Mélenchon (75 years old) is seen as the strongest candidate from the left, and the latest opinion polls show that he will reach the second round of the presidential elections next April against Le Pen, but they also indicate that he will lose in the second round.
His program, titled “A Common Future,” is the fifth version of his party’s platform, “France Proud,” and largely reaffirms policies that formed the backbone of Mélenchon’s previous presidential campaigns.
Among his key pledges is to cancel President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, which gradually raised France's minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 in an attempt to boost public finances. The “Proud France” party says it will return the retirement age to 60 years for those who have contributed to the system for 40 years.
The program also calls for increasing the net minimum monthly wage from about 1,480 euros to 1,700 euros, and includes plans to abolish the unified tax on capital income, increase taxes on the wealthiest families, and set a ceiling on the prices of basic foodstuffs.
The “Proud France” party, as reported by Reuters, also confirms its support for the gradual abandonment of nuclear energy in favor of an electricity system that relies entirely on renewable energy, including canceling the nuclear reactor program and not extending the life of nuclear power plants beyond 60 years.
On foreign policy, Mélenchon's program reiterates his long-standing criticism of NATO, and calls for France's gradual withdrawal from the alliance, starting with the exit from its integrated military command.
The program also criticizes German influence on European Union economic policy, and describes Berlin as Europe's main advocate of "orderly liberalism," an economic philosophy based on strict budget rules, price stability, and independent monetary policy. The program calls for greater protection for domestic industry, including measures to encourage the transfer of production to France, and advocates a more interventionist role for the state in the economy.
