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The mayor of Gdansk dies under the blows of a madman

(B2) Mayor of Gdansk Paweł Adamowicz (Plate Forme Civique PO) died of his injuries on Monday (January 14)

Paweł Adamowicz was stabbed by a fellow citizen at a charity event on Sunday (13 January). Taken to the hospital in absolute emergency, he could not be resuscitated, despite long hours on the operating table. This is the first assassination of a political leader in Poland for ages (2).

European tribute

A tribute was paid to him at the European Parliament on Monday (January 14), in Strasbourg, at the same time as the victims of the last attack. Several European political leaders, in particular Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, originally from Gdansk, wanted to pay tribute to " the man of solidarity " and his " ami ».

Against hatred and contempt

The former Prime Minister very quickly went to the city in northern Poland to pay tribute to his friend: “ I want today, dear Paul, to promise, on behalf of all the inhabitants of Gdańsk, Poles and Europeans, that for you and for all of us, we will protect our Gdańsk, our Poland and our Europe. Against hatred and contempt, we promise you”, said the former Prime Minister according to the press Polish.

Poland turned upside down

The motives of the author of the act are not really known. But what we do know is that it is a resident of Gdansk, aged 27, whose name is Stefan Wilmont (Miłosz) and had just been released from prison, declaring his innocence and accusing the Civic Platform, the party to which the mayor of Gdansk was affiliated. Paweł Adamowicz was very committed to the cause of minorities, especially gays and lesbians, as well as refugees. He had made Gdansk a city open to asylum seekers (read the story on the UNHCR website last February). What had not only attracted him friends.

A latent climate of tension

Polish politicians should question their policy of maintaining a climate of permanent tension, whether towards their political adversaries, or towards neighboring countries, which are facing terrorism. No need to blame any stranger here. The enemy was within..." Stop the hate. stop the violence proclaimed the marchers of Gdansk yesterday in tribute to their mayor

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)


Many reactions in Europe. In France, a minimum tribute

Several other European personalities, such as the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, the German and Czech governments have also made a point of making hommage to the mayor of Gdansk.

On the French side, the tribute is minima. A single tweet from the Minister for European Affairs, Nathalie Loiseau. Nothing on the side of Jean-Yves Le Drian, the Presidency of the Republic or the government spokesman, Benjamin Griveaux, probably too busy... with the national debate and the yellow vests. The mayor of Nice, a city twinned with Gdansk, Christian Estrosi reacted very quickly to Twitter. But not Jean-Claude Gaudin, mayor of Marseille, another city twinned with the port of the Baltic Sea.


  1. A collaborator of MP Janusz Wojciechowski was killed in Lodz in October 2010. But not yet an elected official.

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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