Connect with us

World

European Christmas markets fortify security measures as terror threats force major operational changes

Published

on

European Christmas markets fortify security measures as terror threats force major operational changes

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

European Christmas markets are opening this year under tightened security and rising operational costs, as officials across Germany, France and other parts of Europe respond to what authorities describe as elevated threats to public safety.

In Germany, spending on security for public events — including Christmas markets — has increased by about 44% over the past three years, according to a new survey by the Federal Association of City and Town Marketing. Berlin’s main market launched this season behind concrete barriers, enhanced video surveillance, and an expanded private security presence. Several smaller municipalities warn that the added requirements may force them to scale back or cancel markets next year.

“The requirements have become increasingly stringent,” David Russ, head of production at Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt, told Reuters. The heightened measures, he said, allow visitors to feel secure: “I can just let go of everything here — I feel safe.”

Heavily armed police officers can be seen at the Christmas market in Essen, Germany.  (Roland Weihrauch/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Advertisement

While many towns receive some public funding to operate holiday markets, smaller municipalities and private organizers often shoulder most of the expense. Local officials have begun calling on Germany’s 16 federal states to take on a larger share of the financial burden, arguing that counter-terrorism measures extend beyond the responsibility of local event planners.

The upgrades follow last December’s SUV attack at the Magdeburg Christmas market, which killed six people and injured more than 300. Since then, many German cities have reinforced infrastructure, revised crowd-control plans, and increased surveillance at large seasonal gatherings.

MOSSAD–EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCE OPERATION LAUNCHES SWEEPING CRACKDOWN ON HAMAS GLOBAL TERROR NETWORK

Police officers patrol the annual Christmas market on November 20, 2025 in Magdeburg, Germany. On December 20, 2024 Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, who is currently on trial, drove a car into the crowded open-air market, killing six people and injuring over 300. Christmas markets will open soon nationwide. Many are facing high costs due to increased security measures following the Magdeburg attack. (Photo by Ronny Hartmann/Getty Images) (Ronny Hartmann/Getty Images)

France has moved in a similar direction. Authorities canceled the annual New Year’s Eve concert on the Champs-Élysées after police raised concerns about crowd management and what the Interior Ministry described as a “very high” terror threat level. The ministry has classified Christmas markets and other winter festivities as “high-risk” events, prompting cities to deploy additional officers, introduce new screening points and impose access restrictions where needed.

Advertisement

“The real question is why European governments are tolerating a situation where they must deploy extraordinary security just so people can safely celebrate a tradition that has been central to European life for centuries,” Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society told Fox News Digital. “They’re responding to the threat, but they’re not pushing back against the radical extremists causing it. Why are Europeans forced to navigate layers of security instead of authorities making life difficult for the people who are spreading hatred and posing the threat?”

Visitors walk through the Magdeburg Christmas market after the opening in Magdeburg, Germany, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.  (Matthias Bein/dpa via AP)

“Europe needs an aggressive strategy that targets the radicals — imprisoning them, deporting them if they’re not citizens — because you can’t secure your way out of this forever,” Mendoza continued. “Every year the security will increase unless the root causes are addressed. Europeans are increasingly fed up with what’s happening to their societies, and if current leaders won’t deliver transformative change, voters will eventually choose leaders who will.”

Other European countries are also reinforcing their holiday operations. According to The Sun, the iconic Christmas market in Salzburg, Austria — which draws roughly 1.5 million visitors each year — is now monitored by round-the-clock private security and a network of 33 dedicated cameras. Elsewhere in Austria, including Arnold Schwarzenegger’s home region of Styria, some markets have been canceled entirely because organizers say they cannot afford the mandated security measures.

STATE DEPARTMENT MAKES FIRST-EVER ANTIFA FOREIGN TERRORIST DESIGNATIONS ACROSS EUROPE

Advertisement

A member of security observes visitors walk among Christmas stalls at the opening day of the annual Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz on November 24, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. Christmas markets are opening today across the city and in many other cities across Germany. (Photo by Maryam Majd/Getty Images) (Maryam Majd/Getty Images)

In Prague, large concrete blocks have been placed along popular embankments and around key foot-traffic areas, while police have increased patrols to monitor potential targets. In Budapest, additional plain-clothes officers are circulating through crowds to identify suspicious behavior and improve response speed.

Ben Cohen, a senior analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that authorities are treating the holiday season with heightened seriousness. “The threat level is certainly the same as last year. Arguably, it’s more acute now, which is why the authorities in Germany and France are increasing security measures at Christmas markets and fairs this year. Over the last year, both countries have cracked down on Islamist activity, so they will be especially on their guard at this time of year.”

“More broadly,” he added, “both Christian and Jewish festivals are seen as soft targets by jihadists, as evidenced by the attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur in October. Christmas and Easter carry the same risks and so extra vigilance and a strong but discreet armed police presence is definitely warranted.”

An aerial view shows the traditional 45-meter-high Dortmund Christmas tree, one of the world’s largest, at the Christmas market in Dortmund on Dec. 5, 2025. (Photo by Ina Fassebender / AFP via Getty Images))

Advertisement

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Despite the adjustments, many markets in Europe remain open and continue to draw significant attendance, though under noticeably stricter security conditions. Officials in several countries say the measures are likely to remain in place as long as threat levels stay elevated.

Reuters contributed to this story.

World

Video: Germany Passes Controversial Law to Boost Soldier Numbers

Published

on

Video: Germany Passes Controversial Law to Boost Soldier Numbers

new video loaded: Germany Passes Controversial Law to Boost Soldier Numbers

Amid rising tensions with Russia, German lawmakers approved a military draft law aimed at increasing the number of soldiers. Those opposing the law worry it’s a step toward compulsory conscription.

By Nader Ibrahim

December 5, 2025

Continue Reading

World

Russia unleashes major drone, missile attack on Ukraine as US diplomatic talks continue

Published

on

Russia unleashes major drone, missile attack on Ukraine as US diplomatic talks continue

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Russia launched a major attack against Ukraine overnight as talks between Ukraine and the U.S. continued in Florida this week.

Moscow sent 653 drones and 51 missiles across Ukraine, leaving eight people injured, Ukrainian officials said.

French president Emmanuel Macron condemned the attacks, writing on X “We must continue to put pressure on Russia to force it towards peace.”

Macron said he plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and their British and German counterparts in London on Monday.

Advertisement

EX-CIA STATION CHIEF WARNS PUTIN USING TALKS TO GAIN LEVERAGE AS UKRAINE DELEGATION MEETS TOP TRUMP OFFICIALS

Ukrainian Fire Point’s Flamingo missiles are inspected in the Ukraine on Thursday.  (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Zelenskyy said on Saturday that he had a “substantive phone call” with American officials involved in the talks with the Ukrainian delegation in Miami.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday shared a readout of the talks, which also included President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The readout called the talks “constructive discussions on advancing a credible pathway toward a durable and just peace in Ukraine.”

Advertisement

“American and Ukrainian parties underscored that an end to the war and credible steps toward ceasefire and de-escalation are necessary to prevent renewed aggression and to enable Ukraine’s comprehensive redevelopment plan, designed to make the nation stronger and more prosperous than before the war.”

People gather in Kyiv on Saturday during a blackout caused by Russia’s ongoing strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.  (Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

PUTIN REJECTS KEY PARTS OF US PEACE PLAN AS KREMLIN OFFICIAL WARNS EUROPE FACES NEW WAR RISK: REPORT

Following Russia’s Friday night barrage, Ukraine’s air force said 29 locations were hit, and the military was able to shoot down 585 drones and 30 missiles.

Three of the eight wounded were hurt in the Kyiv region, local officials reported.

Advertisement

The “massive’ attack also targeted power stations in the country and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant temporarily lost power overnight, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant seen in 2022.  (Carl Court/Getty Images)

Zaporizhzhia is under Russian control and not in use, but it needs power to cool its shutdown reactors to prevent a catastrophic incident.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Zelenskyy said that a drone strike had also “burned down” the train station in the city of Fastiv, near Kyiv.

Advertisement

In retaliatory strikes, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces later said Ukrainian forces said its military hit Russia’s Ryazan Oil Refinery.

Continue Reading

World

Ukraine peace talks stall as Russia unleashes huge waves of attacks

Published

on

Ukraine peace talks stall as Russia unleashes huge waves of attacks

Negotiations fail to yield progress, while Moscow launches over 700 drones and missiles across Ukrainian territory

Three days of negotiations between Ukrainian and United States officials have ended without a breakthrough, as Russia launched one of its largest aerial assaults of the war on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

The talks in Florida concluded on Saturday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy describing a phone call with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as “substantive”, though both sides acknowledged that meaningful progress hinged entirely on Moscow’s willingness to pursue genuine peace.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 itemsend of list

The impasse underscores the gulf between diplomatic efforts and the grinding reality on the ground, where Russian forces continue advancing in eastern Ukraine.

Russia deployed 653 drones and 51 missiles in the overnight barrage that began on Friday, striking energy facilities and critical infrastructure across the country, Ukrainian officials said.

Advertisement

At least eight people were wounded in the attacks, which Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko confirmed hit 29 separate locations.

The assault temporarily severed power to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, raising new concerns about reactor safety.

The facility, which has been under Russian occupation since early in Moscow’s invasion, requires continuous electricity to cool its six shutdown reactors and prevent catastrophic failure, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Energy facilities were the main targets,” Zelenskyy said of the latest assault, noting that one drone strike destroyed a railway station in Fastiv, near Kyiv. Ukrainian air defences intercepted 585 drones and 30 missiles, the air force reported.

Moscow claimed its strikes targeted “military-industrial complex enterprises and the energy facilities that support them”, asserting that all designated targets were hit.

Advertisement

The diplomatic push comes as battlefield dynamics increasingly favour Russia.

Moscow’s forces are closing in on Pokrovsk, a former logistics hub in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, and have nearly surrounded the neighbouring city of Myrnohrad.

Russian troops captured roughly 505 sq km (195 sq miles) in November alone, nearly double October’s territorial gains.

Russia now controls almost the entirety of the neighbouring Luhansk region and holds the majority of coastal territories stretching to Kherson. The front lines have largely stabilised along these positions, though Moscow continues to make incremental advances.

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Zelenskyy alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in London on Monday to assess the US-mediated negotiations.

Advertisement

Macron condemned Russia’s “escalatory path” and insisted that “we must continue to put pressure on Russia to force it to make peace”.

The talks in Miami followed a Tuesday meeting between Witkoff, Kushner and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, which failed to produce an agreement.

A joint statement released on Friday acknowledged that “real progress towards any agreement” depends on Russia demonstrating “serious commitment to long-term peace, including steps towards de-escalation”.

Adding another layer of complexity, the International Criminal Court’s deputy prosecutor said on Friday that the arrest warrant for Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine cannot be halted by peace negotiations.

The warrant could only be temporarily deferred by United Nations Security Council action, prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told reporters, emphasising that “there must be the possibility of accountability in order for peace to be enduring”.

Advertisement

Putin has signalled he will not soften his territorial demands, ordering Russian forces to prepare for continued winter combat operations.

Continue Reading

Trending