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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.
STATE DEPARTMENT MAKES FIRST-EVER ANTIFA FOREIGN TERRORIST DESIGNATIONS ACROSS EUROPE
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.
europe,terrorism,germany,france,christmas
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Rick Scott says Prince Andrew ‘absolutely’ must face US trial in Epstein case if American laws were broken
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A top Senate Republican demanded that if former Prince Andrew is found to have broken American laws with his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, he should stand trial in the U.S.
«If he’s violated American law, absolutely,» Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital.
Scott’s comments came after the news that the former prince, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who is linked to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in the United Kingdom on Thursday.
EPSTEIN PROBE LEADER COMER SAYS ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’ AFTER EX-PRINCE ANDREW ARREST
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said that former Prince Andrew, who was arrested under suspicion of misconduct in public office in the United Kingdom on Thursday, should «absolutely» stand trial in the U.S. if he was found to have broken any American laws with his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
British authorities were reportedly investigating whether Mountbatten-Windsor had shared confidential trade information with Epstein while acting as Britain’s special envoy for trade over a decade ago, the Associated Press reported.
Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, despite being one of his most well-known associates. He was also accused by the late Virginia Giuffre — one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers — in her memoir of having sex with her when she was a minor.
The list of co-conspirators and those connected to Epstein continues to grow, following Congress’ move to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release millions of documents related to him, known as the «Epstein Files.»
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The former Prince Andrew, Duke of York attends the Easter service at St. George’s Chapel on April 20, 2025, in Windsor, England. He lost his princely title in October of that year. (Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)
But criminal action against those alleged to have ties with Epstein has remained scarce, given that appearing in the files doesn’t directly translate to criminal charges. Scott argued that if people «violate the law, you should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.»
«It’s as simple as that. It’s despicable what Epstein did,» Scott said. «I can’t imagine these people who had relationships with Epstein, especially after he was convicted the first time, and they kept their relationship.»
«If they’ve done anything wrong, they should be held accountable,» he continued. «I don’t know if Prince Andrew has done anything wrong, but everybody who has should be held accountable. What you read that happened to these young girls is just like — I’ve got two daughters, I’ve got a granddaughter, and I can’t imagine, you know, the position that Epstein and, it seems like, some other people put these young women in.»
The Senate voted unanimously last year in favor of legislation that President Donald Trump signed into law that required the DOJ to release all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials «publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format» related to the late financier and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 12, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Several names of prominent Americans, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, were revealed in the trove of unredacted documents.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., when asked if Lutnick or others should face consequences, said earlier this month that «transparency is something we all ought to aspire to here.»
«And if there are folks who are, you know, named in there or discussed in there in some way, they’re going to have to answer for that,» Thune said.
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Millions of files and a handful of months later, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced earlier this week that the DOJ had unloaded all the documents. But lawmakers have said it’s not enough.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., charged that the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files «is a travesty.»
«But in France, the Paris prosecutor’s office just opened two investigations based on new leads from the released files,» Schumer said on X. «And in Britain, former Prince Andrew has been arrested over ties to Epstein. When will there be justice in America?»
politics,senate,jeffrey epstein,british royals,crime world
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Iraq War flashbacks? Experts say Trump’s Iran buildup signals pressure campaign, not regime change
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As U.S. forces surge into the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran, the military posture is drawing comparisons to the 2003 Iraq War buildup. But military experts and former officials say that while the scale of visible force may look similar, the design and intent are fundamentally different.
In early 2003, the United States assembled more than 300,000 U.S. personnel in the region, backed by roughly 1,800 coalition aircraft and multiple Army and Marine divisions staged in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia ahead of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The force was built for invasion, regime removal and occupation.
Today’s deployment tells a different story, as the absence of massed ground forces remains the clearest contrast with 2003.
«I believe there is absolutely no intention to put ground forces into Iran. So the buildup is very different,» retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told Fox News Digital.
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The world’s largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is seen in the North Sea during Exercise Neptune Strike 2025. The photo was taken in the North Sea in September 2025. (Jonathan Klein/AFP via Getty Images)
«What is happening is that both firepower and supplies are being moved to the right places … Amateurs talk tactics; professionals talk logistics. And right now we are getting logistics right, not only in the form of shooters but supplies to sustain an effort,» he said.
John Spencer, executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute, told Fox News Digital that «the strategic objective in both cases is coercion, shaping an adversary’s decision calculus through visible military power, but while the scale of the buildup may appear comparable, what is being mobilized and threatened is fundamentally different.»
«In 2003, the United States assembled a ground-centric force built for regime removal, territorial seizure and occupation,» he said. «Today’s posture is maritime and air-heavy, centered on carrier strike groups, long-range precision strike and layered air defense, signaling clear readiness to act while also sending an equally clear message that there are no boots on the ground planned.»
«The recent U.S. military buildup against Iran — which now includes two aircraft carrier battle groups, in addition to dozens of other U.S. planes that have been sent to bases in the region and air and missile defense systems — provides President Trump with a significant amount of military capability should he authorize military operations against Iran,» said Javed Ali, associate professor at the University of Michigan’s Ford School and former senior counterterrorism official.
Ali noted that U.S. capabilities already in the region at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and other locations give Washington multiple strike options.
If ordered, he said, operations «would very likely be broad in scope against a range of targets like the ruling clerical establishment, senior officials in the IRGC, key ballistic missile and drone production, storage and launch facilities, and elements of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, and last for days if not longer.»
IRAN RAMPS UP REGIONAL THREATS AS TRUMP CONSIDERS TALKS, EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF REGIME VIOLENCE EMERGE
Soldiers of the British Light Infantry distribute aid packages to locals at Zubayr near Basra, southern Iraq. Britain, a key ally in the U.S.-coalition, was in charge of security in Iraq’s southern region until its withdrawal in 2007.
Breedlove said the incremental deployment of carriers and air assets appears designed to increase pressure, not trigger immediate war.
«We brought in one carrier battle group that did not change the rhetoric in Iran… so now the president has started sailing a second carrier battle group to the area. I think all of these things are increasing the pressure slowly on Iran to help them come to the right decision… Let’s sit down at the table and figure this out.»
Ali emphasized another major difference: legal authority and coalition structure. The 2003 Iraq War was authorized by a congressional Authorization for Use of Military Force and backed by a large international coalition, including tens of thousands of British troops. «Currently, no similar AUMF has been approved by Congress for military operations against Iran, which might mean President Trump may invoke his standing authority under Article II of the US Constitution as Commander in Chief as a substitute legal basis, given the threats Iran poses to the United States,» he said.
The aircraft carrier Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) pulls into Naval Station Norfolk for the first time. The first-of-class ship — the first new U.S. aircraft carrier design in 40 years — spent several days conducting builder’s sea trials, a comprehensive test of many of the ship’s key systems and technologies. (U.S. Navy photo by Matt Hildreth courtesy of Huntington Ingalls Industries/Released) (©Newport News Shipbuilding 2017)
That does not mean escalation is risk-free. Ali warned Iran could respond with «ballistic missile attacks» in far greater frequency than past strikes, along with drones, cyber operations and maritime disruption in the Persian Gulf.
Breedlove pointed to lessons learned from Iraq. «We want to have a clear set of objectives… we do not want to enter an endless sort of battle with Iran… we need to have a plan for what’s day plus one,» he said, warning against repeating past mistakes where military success was not matched by post-conflict planning.
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The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the U.S. Navy nuclear-powered Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) arrives in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dec. 1, 2025. (Seaman Abigail Reyes/U.S. Navy/Handout via Reuters)
The central military distinction, analysts say, is this: 2003 was an invasion architecture. Today is a deterrence and strike architecture.
The force now in place is optimized for air superiority, long-range precision strikes and sustained naval operations — not for seizing and holding territory. Whether that posture succeeds in compelling Iran back to negotiations without crossing into open conflict may depend less on numbers than on how each side calculates the cost of escalation.
iran,iraq,military,pentagon,national security,wars,middle east
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