Organizers of June 4 march in Warsaw say 500,000 people took part

Shortly before the march commenced at Plac Na Rozdrożu, Civic Platform chairman Donald Tusk gave a short speech. "We're here at high noon. Don't be afraid, no one will silence us today," he said.

Tusk also said "the first step to shake off the yoke of oppression is to have courage to be free, the first step to victory is to realize one's own strength". "We are here so that the whole of Poland, the whole Europe, and the whole world could see how strong we are, how many of us are ready again, just like 40 and 30 years ago, to fight for democracy, for Poland and for our rights," he stressed.

Other speakers at Plac Na Rozdrożu included former president Lech Wałęsa, Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, and Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram of the "Free Courts" initiative.

Around 12:30 p.m. the march moved along the Royal Route towards Castle Square. On the way, politicians, local government members, activists and other guests gave speeches from a bus that rode with the march. Leaders of other opposition parties also took part in the protest, including Włodzimierz Czarzasty (co-chairperson of the New Left party), Szymon Hołownia (chief of Poland 2050), and Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (chief of Polish People's Party).

The crowd stretched along the whole route of the march. Even when the front of the procession reached Castle Square, there were still some participants at the starting point.

Shortly before 3 p.m., the crowd gathered at Castle Square sang out the national anthem of Poland.

In his second speech that day, Donald Tusk said: "As long as we have Poland in our hearts, nothing and no one can really threaten it. What does it mean to have Poland in our hearts? Poland means freedom, Poland means solidarity, Poland means love - to this land, to the people, to its history. There's no Poland without freedom, solidarity and freedom," he said.

"Why half a million Polish men and women took to the streets today? Because we feel that for years now Poland has been ruled by people who cannot love, who distorted the meaning of solidarity, and who each day take away our freedom bit by bit. We are here to show that if half a million people can take to the streets and say 'we are together', then nothing can divide us, no one can destroy us because we have Poland in our hearts, because we believe the time of happy Poland is coming," Tusk added.

He also reminded that "democracy dies in darkness". "There will be no more silence from today on. Today you have spoken on behalf of 38 million Poles. You have spoken out for democracy, so that it stays alive despite having its foundations attacked everyday by PiS. No, democracy in Poland will not die, there will be no silence. We shall cry out loud," the former PM stressed.

According to the organizers, the march attracted approx. 500,000 people, however sources close to the police quoted by Polish Press Agency said the number of participants was somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000.

Opposition supporters also took to the streets in other Polish cities, including Kraków and Szczecin.