Overview
- Members of the Greens in Castrop-Rauxel filed a Volksverhetzung complaint against the chancellor, and Recklinghausen police confirmed receipt and a prompt review for possible criminality.
- Roughly 2,000 people protested outside the CDU headquarters in Berlin according to police, with organizers claiming about 7,500, and Fridays for Future announced a further rally in Kiel.
- Merz refused to retract his comments and told reporters to ask their daughters what he meant, reinforcing his earlier linkage of urban problems to migration and returns.
- DIW president Marcel Fratzscher warned of heightened polarization and “considerable economic damage,” saying the rhetoric weakens Germany’s welcoming culture and worsens the skilled‑labor shortage.
- Political reactions split: CSU mayor Marcus König defended a focus on offenders and returns, Armin Laschet called the wording too nebulous, SPD and Greens pressed for clarification, and integration commissioner Natalie Pawlik labeled the remarks dangerous.