Tens of Thousands Demonstrate in Europe in Support of Refugees

Demonstrators in Stockholm join tens of thousands of people who rallied in a Europe-wide day of action in solidarity with refugees and other migrants. Jonathan Nackstrand/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …

Demonstrators in Lisbon welcome refugees and other migrants. Patricia de Melo Moreira/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …

In London, tens of thousands of people march carrying placards that read 'Open the Borders,' and 'Be Human.' Justin Tallis/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …

Demonstrators take part in a pro-refugee rally in central London. Justin Tallis/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …

In Lyon, eastern France, people braved the rain to show their support for migrants. Jean-Philippe Ksiazek/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …

A large crowd turns out for a rally in Copenhagen. Scanpix Denmark/Reuters …

A woman holds a handwritten sign in Geneva, Switzerland, welcoming refugees. Martial Trezzini/Associated Press …

A child takes part in the demonstration in support of migrants in Warsaw, Poland. Radek Pietruszka/European Pressphoto Agency …

A woman at a rally in Paris holds a placard urging the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Joel Saget/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …

A sign welcomes refugees in Stockholm. Jonathan nackstrand/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …

On Friday, a barefoot procession in solidarity with migrants took place in Rome. Antonio Masiello/Zuma Press …

In Prague, anti-migrant counter-demonstrators hold banners and Czech national flags on Saturday. Michal Cizek/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …

An anti-immigration rally in Bratislava, Slovakia. Samuel kubani/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …

Several thousand right-wing nationalists wave Polish national flags during a counter-demonstration in Warsaw, Poland. Alik Keplicz/Associated Press …

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fullscreen Updated Sept. 12, 2015 3:48 p.m. ET

Tens of thousands of demonstrators in Europe rallied on Saturday to express sympathy toward migrants seeking refuge in the region amid the largest migration of displaced people since the end of World War II.

About 30,000 people converged in Copenhagen, according to city police, carrying banners such as "Refugees Welcome." The rally, as well as smaller gatherings in other Danish cities, was calm and peaceful, police said.

In Hamburg, Germany, more than 24,000 people demonstrated against xenophobia and racism, said a spokeswoman for the city's police. She said they were mostly peaceful but police briefly used water cannons after some stones and firecrackers were thrown.

Demonstrators also marched in London to pressure the British government to take in more refugees. Among those in attendance was Jeremy Corbyn, just hours after being elected as leader of the U.K.'s opposition Labour Party.

The rallies further highlight the political rift created by the exploding migrant crisis in Europe. The hundreds of thousands of people seeking refuge this summer have left Europe divided between nations on transit routes on one side and those countries migrants see as preferred destinations on the other.

The president of Hungary, one such transit route, defended his country's tough migrant policy on Saturday.

"These migrants don't come from the war zone, but from camps in Syria's neighboring countries Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, where they were in safety" and thus didn't flee for fear of their lives, but for wanting a better life, Viktor Orban told German tabloid Bild in an interview. "Personally, I can understand this, but there is no fundamental right to a better life. There's only a right to security and human dignity."

Earlier this month, Hungary's premier courted controversy by saying the country's borders must be defended as Europe's identity was rooted in Christianity, while most of the migrants arriving on the continent were Muslims.

Mr. Orban's tough stance drew criticism from Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann.

"To put refugees on trains in the belief they would go elsewhere reminds me of the darkest time on our continent," Mr. Faymann told weekly magazine Der Spiegel in an interview, in a reference to Nazi Germany. Mr. Orban "acts irresponsibly when declaring everyone a migrant for economic reasons. He consciously uses a policy of deterrence," he said.

In the Polish capital, about 7,000 people led by fringe nationalist groups protested on Saturday against the government's plan to take in more than 2,200 refugees over the next two years.

"It's a war of two civilizations," said one of the Warsaw rally's leaders.

The influx of migrants in Europe is showing few signs of abating. Some 40,000 migrants are expected to arrive in Germany this weekend, twice as many as last week, according to an estimate by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

"We are expecting for the next two days alone, for the weekend, about 40,000 new refugees from our southern and southeastern neighbors," Mr. Steinmeier told a conference in Prague on Friday.

The impact of the political rift has been felt by Germany's transport system. Trains to and from main station in Hamburg were suspended for 1½ hours on Saturday because demonstrators were on the tracks, a spokesman for the city's federal police said.

Munich, Germany's main point of entry, has requested additional support from other regions. Between midnight and 4 p.m. on Saturday, 7,200 migrants had arrived in Munich by train, said Simone Hilgers, a spokeswoman for the regional government of Upper Bavaria, where Munich is located. The number could rise to more than 9,000 in the next 2½ hours, she said.

She echoed comments by Munich mayor Dieter Reiter calling on other German regions to step up their support.

France, which like Germany has been pressing the rest of the EU to do more to resolve the crisis, said it would offer new housing subsidies to cities and towns to accommodate thousands of refugees.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the state would provide a subsidy payment of €1,000 ($1,134) for each dwelling offered to house migrants.

"We need to face this situation and confront it effectively," he said.

—Martin Sobczyk in Warsaw, and Jason Chow and Noemie Bisserbe contributed to this article.

Write to Christina Zander at christina.zander@wsj.com and Ulrike Dauer at ulrike.dauer@wsj.com

Source: Tens of Thousands Demonstrate in Europe in Support of Refugees