World
European Christmas markets fortify security measures as terror threats force major operational changes
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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)
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.
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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.
“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.
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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))
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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
Keir Starmer reportedly considering stepping down as PM and could announce timetable for departure
British PM Keir Starmer could face leadership challenge amid internal troubles
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces significant internal pressure following Andy Burnham’s special election win, potentially triggering a leadership contest. Starmer is under fire for economic pressures, illegal immigration issues, and controversies surrounding his previous role in prosecuting grooming gangs. Elon Musk also accused Starmer of complicity.
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly considering stepping down and could announce a timetable for his departure as early as Monday, according to a report published Saturday.
Britain’s Observer newspaper reported that Starmer was discussing his future with his wife at his Chequers country residence before making a final decision.
The outlet reported that senior Labour Party figures expect a statement addressing his future as early as next week.
A government source told Reuters that Starmer remains focused on governing and pointed to previous comments in which he vowed to remain in office.
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer awaits Switzerland’s Federal President Guy Parmelin on the sidelines of the G7 summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday. (Isabel Infantes/Pool Reuters via AP)
Fox News Digital has reached out to the prime minister’s office for comment.
Pressure on Starmer has been building for months amid growing dissatisfaction within his party and concerns over the government’s handling of the economy and cost-of-living issues.
The political threat to Starmer intensified Friday after rival Andy Burnham won a seat in Parliament, positioning him to mount a formal leadership challenge.
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Britain’s Labour party candidate Andy Burnham speaks to supporters after the Makerfield by-election in Ashton in Makerfield, England, Friday. (Jon Super/AP)
Starmer congratulated Burnham following the victory, writing on X that voters, “chose Labour’s campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate.”
When asked about Burnham’s apparent ambitions to replace him, Starmer insisted he intends to remain in office.
“I’ve said repeatedly I’m not going to walk away from that,” Starmer said.
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Sir Keir Starmer is battling to save his position and refusing to stand aside despite dozens of Labout MP’s demanding he resigns. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Starmer has led the Labour Party since 2020 and became prime minister in 2024.
Calls for his resignation intensified last month, with more than 100 Labour lawmakers publicly urging him to step aside or set out a timetable for his departure. Several parliamentary aides also resigned in protest.
The internal revolt followed a series of disappointing local election results for Labour, which lost hundreds of council seats across England, surrendered long-held ground in Wales and fell behind political rivals in Scotland.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks a news conference at Downing Street in London, March 5. (Tolga Akmen/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File)
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Starmer’s popularity has also declined amid a persistently high cost of living, sluggish economic growth and criticism over his acceptance of gifts from wealthy donors.
Fox News Digital’s James Cirrone and Emma Bussey, and Reuters contributed to this report.
United States President Donald Trump has pledged there will be no tolls for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, unless they are collected by his own country.
Trump’s statement, made in a Saturday afternoon post on Truth Social, is the latest sign that a recently signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) may be unravelling.
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“There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired,” Trump wrote, “unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America.”
Since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28, Iran has successfully used the Strait of Hormuz as a pressure point, closing the strategic waterway to traffic.
But under the terms of Wednesday’s ceasefire memorandum, the strait is supposed to reopen for an interim period of 60 days. During that time, Iran is barred from charging vessels for passage.
On Saturday, however, Iran’s joint military command said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, citing a “clear breach” of the memorandum’s commitments.
US Central Command (CENTCOM), the agency that oversees military operations in the region, denied that report and maintained that the traffic continues to flow through the waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz has long been a flashpoint in the conflict between the US and Iran. Nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas is transported through the strait, as well as about 30 percent of the global fertiliser trade.
Closure of the strait has caused global fuel costs to soar and has tested agricultural sectors across the world.
Trump had responded to Iran’s chokehold over the strait by imposing a US naval blockade on Iran’s ports in the region.
But that naval blockade was lifted under the terms of Wednesday’s memorandum. The deal also paused fighting on all fronts in the regional conflict, including in Lebanon.
The memorandum, though, was not intended as a long-term deal. It serves as a launching point for negotiations on key issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Several points of divergence also went unaddressed in the memorandum. Nowhere does the memo say that future tolls cannot be collected from the strait after the 60-day period expires.
Before the war, there was no charge for passage through the strait. Trump himself said in an interview with The New York Times that the waterway should remain “permanently toll-free”.
But he appeared to reverse course in Saturday’s post, once again floating the possibility that the US could extract tolls in the strait, while barring Iran from doing so.
No fees should be levied, Trump wrote, “unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed”.
He explained that such a charge would compensate the US “for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs”.
Trump used similar language in his New York Times interview earlier this week, floating the US becoming “the guardian of the Middle East” in exchange for 20 percent of its revenue.
Saturday’s post is not the first time Trump has mused about the US imposing tolls in the strait, either.
In April, for instance, he discussed the idea with reporters, saying, “What about us charging tolls? I’d rather do that than let them have them. Why shouldn’t we? We’re the winner. We won.”
There has been no indication that Trump’s plans have been officially presented to countries in the region, many of whom have struck a careful balance in their dealings with both the US and Iran during the war.
Iranian officials, meanwhile, have repeatedly said they will not rule out imposing tolls in the strait, framing the issue as a matter of sovereignty and regional negotiation. The strait sits between Iran and Oman.
Further discussions are expected on the matter in the coming weeks.
But such negotiations have been thrown into jeopardy amid ongoing Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which threaten to violate Wednesday’s ceasefire memorandum.
Iran claimed that Saturday’s closure of the strait was a result of new Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, which killed dozens of people after the ceasefire was announced.
Iranian officials have also said that any upcoming talks should focus on proper implementation of the initial memorandum, and that the 60-day negotiating period stipulated in Wednesday’s deal would begin after that was settled.
Pakistan, a top mediator between the US and Iran, has said that follow-up talks are set to begin in Switzerland on Sunday.
Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that an Iranian delegation, led by parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has already arrived for the negotiations.
On the US side, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance are expected to attend.
Vance departed for Switzerland late Saturday.
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