A right-wing demonstration took place in Magdeburg late Saturday, one day after a attack at a Christmas market that left five people dead and hundreds injured.
Approximately 1,000 protesters gathered in the city’s central square, according to police estimates, demanding stricter migration controls. The rally followed the identification of the attacker by German authorities as a doctor from Saudi Arabia.
Demonstrators carried flags and banners advocating “remigration” and chanted slogans like “Those who do not love Germany should leave Germany” and “We do not want asylum seekers’ homes.” Some minor clashes with police were reported, according to local media.
The attack has reignited intense debates about migration policy, a topic likely to dominate discussions as Germany heads toward early elections on February 23.
Over the past decade, Germany has seen a significant influx of refugees and migrants, fueling societal and political tensions.
Criticism of Germany’s migration policies has also come from right-wing figures across Europe. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a opponent of migration, used the incident in Magdeburg to denounce the European Union’s policies.
Speaking at a press conference in Budapest, Orban asserted that “there is no doubt” of a connection between increased migration and acts of terrorism in Western Europe. He vowed to resist EU migration policies, claiming that “Brussels wants Magdeburg to happen to Hungary, too.”
