By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has raised concerns that immigration and difficulties integrating newcomers into European societies are contributing to political instability, linking those issues to unrest in France and Italy during an interview conducted alongside an international investment conference in Berlin.
Speaking during an interview with Bloomberg at the Invest in Germany Summit this week, Merz identified “migration” and “non-integrated people” as factors he considered “most likely” to be contributing to social tensions across Europe. The German leader warned that continuing instability could affect additional European Union countries as economic insecurity and political polarization intensify.
His remarks followed violent demonstrations in France on Oct. 17 that resulted in widespread property damage, arson, looting and thousands of arrests. Protests over rising living costs and declining public services escalated into clashes with police in several cities, including Paris, Lyon and Marseille, while disturbances in Italy also raised concerns about broader European instability.
Merz suggested that unresolved problems involving immigration and integration were contributing to changes in voter behavior, with more people supporting parties at opposite ends of the political spectrum.
He described growing support for “extremely right and extremely left” political movements, saying the resulting divisions were contributing to “tensions and obviously riots in some countries, including France.”
The comments represent a significant acknowledgment of integration challenges from a German chancellor whose party played a central role in Europe’s response to the 2015 migration crisis. However, French authorities have not established that immigration caused the October 2026 riots, which initially emerged from protests involving economic conditions, education funding and public services.
French President Emmanuel Macron has rejected claims attributing the violence to immigrant communities without supporting evidence. French officials have instead emphasized economic grievances, failures in policing and the involvement of individuals who exploited the demonstrations to commit criminal acts.
The disagreement over the causes of the unrest has nevertheless intensified debate among European leaders about immigration policy, public safety and the long-term consequences of demographic change.
Merz, who leads Germany’s Christian Democratic Union, became chancellor in May 2025 after campaigning on promises to strengthen immigration enforcement and reduce irregular arrivals. His party formed a governing coalition with the center-left Social Democratic Party rather than entering into an agreement with Alternative for Germany, whose platform calls for substantially more restrictive immigration policies.
The CDU’s position carries particular historical significance because former Chancellor Angela Merkel, also a Christian Democrat, led Germany during the European migration crisis of 2015, when hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers entered the country.
Merkel’s government adopted policies allowing large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers to remain in Germany, a decision that reshaped the country’s immigration debate and contributed to longstanding disagreements over border controls, integration requirements and the allocation of public resources.
Merz has attempted to distinguish his government’s approach from that period while maintaining that Germany continues to require immigration to meet its economic needs.
In an address concerning Germany’s industrial and employment outlook, the chancellor emphasized the importance of addressing labor shortages and maintaining a workforce capable of supporting the country’s economy.
He has also discussed immigration in connection with Germany’s aging population and the financial pressures associated with declining birthrates. During discussions with Germany’s federal states, his administration addressed challenges involving migration management and demographic change.
Those positions reflect the government’s effort to combine tighter controls on irregular migration with continued pathways for workers whose skills are needed by German employers.
Merz reaffirmed Germany’s longstanding status as a destination for immigrants in a government policy declaration delivered in May.
“Germany is a country of immigration. It has always been so; it is so now; and it will remain so,” he said.
That position has created a political challenge for his government as it attempts to respond to public concerns about migration while addressing labor shortages, pension financing and the economic consequences of an aging population.
During the Bloomberg discussion, Merz acknowledged that dissatisfaction across Germany and other European countries extends beyond immigration.
He pointed to rising energy expenses, inflation, housing affordability and uncertainty about future economic conditions as issues contributing to public anxiety.
The chancellor described an atmosphere of “uncertainty” and “anxiousness,” saying governments must demonstrate that families can maintain economic security and plan for future generations.
“People are really fearing what is next and what comes in our future, and how can we establish our future for our kids and for our grandchildren? And that is something which is on the table of my government as well, to give people a certain degree of assurance and certainty that it’s worthwhile to live in Germany, to work in Germany, and that this remains a secure country,” Merz said.
Those concerns have become increasingly important as German policymakers debate whether existing infrastructure, housing markets and public services can accommodate population changes while preserving living standards.
Immigration can increase demand for housing, schools and healthcare, particularly in areas where public infrastructure has not expanded alongside population growth. At the same time, immigrant workers can contribute to economic production, tax revenue and public services, making the overall economic effects dependent on employment, integration and other conditions.
Researchers have also examined how demographic diversity affects public trust and social relationships. A review published in the Annual Review of Political Science assessed evidence linking ethnic diversity and social trust, an issue frequently raised in discussions about immigration and community cohesion.
Research in this field has identified negative associations between diversity and certain measurements of social trust in some settings, although outcomes vary depending on the populations studied, local circumstances and the ways diversity and trust are measured.
Questions surrounding immigration and public safety have also gained attention following the release of Germany’s 2025 police crime statistics.
According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, non-German nationals accounted for 42.9% of recorded suspects in violent crime cases in 2025. The government’s report identified non-German suspects as disproportionately represented relative to their share of the population.
The figures refer to suspects rather than convicted offenders and classify individuals according to nationality, not whether they immigrated to Germany. They therefore include some foreign nationals who are not immigrants and exclude naturalized immigrants who hold German citizenship.
The statistics also showed that recorded violent crime decreased by 2.3% in 2025, while the number of violent crime suspects fell by 2.6%. Suspects classified as immigrants under the police reporting system declined by 7.2%.
The findings have nevertheless contributed to political discussions concerning criminal justice, immigration enforcement and public confidence in Germany’s security policies.
Debate over the costs of migration has intensified alongside concerns about welfare spending. Claims circulated in October that approximately four out of five recipients in a particular long-term welfare category were foreign nationals, although the available information does not establish that this proportion applies to Germany’s entire welfare population.
Differences between benefit programs, eligibility classifications and definitions of long-term recipients are important when evaluating such figures.
Germany’s demographic challenges remain substantial. With an aging population and pressure on its pension system, policymakers face competing demands to attract additional workers, improve labor market participation and address the public costs of supporting people who are not employed.
The latest French unrest has brought those competing considerations into sharper focus across the European Union.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded to the developments by reiterating his government’s opposition to immigration policies that would require Poland to accept asylum seekers transferred from other European countries.
“Poland will not repeat the mistakes of other European countries, nor will it pay for them,” Tusk said.
His government has defended restrictive asylum measures and emphasized the importance of national control over border enforcement, particularly amid continued concerns about irregular crossings along Poland’s eastern frontier.
Tusk, a former president of the European Council, has increasingly emphasized migration restrictions despite his longstanding association with European integration.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has taken a similar position following his electoral victory over former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Although Magyar’s government has pursued closer relations with European institutions and reforms involving public administration and corruption, it has maintained a restrictive approach toward illegal immigration and border protection.
Responding to the destruction in France, Magyar defended Hungary’s existing migration restrictions.
“In the face of this senseless destruction and unjustified violence, perhaps it is now clear to everyone why Hungary advocates the strictest possible approach to migration, and why we will not weaken our border protection or immigration policy under any pressure,” he said.
His comments reflected a growing dispute over whether the demonstrations in France should influence immigration policy throughout the European Union.
Critics of that interpretation have argued that the French protests were primarily driven by economic grievances rather than immigration. The unrest began amid dissatisfaction with living expenses, reductions in public services and educational conditions, and many of those participating were French citizens.
Nevertheless, political leaders in Hungary and Poland have used the developments to reinforce their opposition to measures they believe would weaken national control over migration.
Both countries have also challenged elements of the EU’s Pact on Migration and Asylum, adopted in 2024 and designed to establish common procedures for processing asylum applications, strengthening external border controls and distributing responsibilities among member states.
The framework includes a solidarity mechanism under which participating countries may contribute through relocation, financial payments or other forms of assistance. The system does not require every country to accept a fixed number of asylum seekers, but it does establish obligations intended to ensure that states facing greater migration pressures receive support.
Warsaw and Budapest have resisted measures they contend could compel them to assume responsibility for migrants arriving through other European countries.
Their opposition has placed them at odds with parts of the EU’s common migration framework and complicated efforts to establish a unified approach to asylum policy.
For Merz, the challenge involves balancing Germany’s economic dependence on workers from abroad with public demands for stronger immigration enforcement, integration requirements and greater security.
His comments in Berlin indicate that he considers integration failures and migration-related political tensions important parts of Europe’s broader instability. At the same time, evidence concerning the October unrest in France points to multiple contributing factors, including economic grievances and dissatisfaction with government services.
The disagreement among European leaders reflects a larger question facing the bloc: how to manage immigration, economic pressure and public safety while maintaining political stability across countries with different national priorities.
As governments respond to the latest demonstrations, Merz’s assessment has added Germany’s voice to an increasingly contentious European debate over the relationship between migration, integration and social unrest.
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