Professor David Betz has warned that Britain is drifting towards civil war. No, says P.K. O'Sullivan: the war has already started, one broken friendship, family row and motorway blockade at a time.
The post The Civil War Has Already Begun appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
The recommendation was approved at a meeting of employment and social affairs ministers in Luxembourg on Monday, 19 October, and forms part of the European Commission’s wider efforts to address Europe’s housing crisis.
It proposes measures ranging from early intervention for households facing eviction to increased investment in affordable housing, improved access to social services and more coordinated support for people without permanent accommodation.
However, the recommendation is not legally binding. Member States will retain responsibility for deciding which measures to introduce, how they should be financed and the extent to which existing national housing policies should be changed.
According to the Council’s announcement, more than one million people are estimated to experience homelessness across the European Union.
The problem extends beyond people sleeping on streets or using emergency shelters.
The term housing exclusion also encompasses households living in inadequate accommodation, people facing imminent eviction and those unable to secure stable housing because of financial or personal circumstances.
The Council identifies poverty, unemployment, domestic violence, disability, poor health and insufficient affordable housing among the factors contributing to the problem.
Housing costs have also risen considerably faster than incomes in several European countries.
Between 2013 and 2024, nominal house prices increased by more than 60 per cent across the EU. In some Member States, average increases exceeded 220 per cent during the same period.
These developments have placed additional pressure on households with lower incomes, particularly in cities where rental accommodation is increasingly expensive and social housing is limited.
The shortage affects not only unemployed people but also individuals in paid employment whose earnings are insufficient to cover market rents.
A central element of the new recommendation is the introduction or strengthening of national strategies intended to prevent homelessness before people lose their accommodation.
The Council encourages Member States to establish early-warning mechanisms capable of identifying households experiencing serious financial or housing difficulties.
Proposed interventions include debt counselling, emergency rental assistance, mediation between landlords and tenants, and appropriate safeguards against forced eviction.
The emphasis on prevention reflects the potentially substantial social and financial consequences of losing stable accommodation.
Once a person becomes homeless, obtaining employment, maintaining healthcare arrangements and securing permanent accommodation can become considerably more difficult.
The Council also calls for particular attention to children, young people leaving care and people facing domestic abuse.
Member States are encouraged to ensure that children have access to adequate housing and that young people leaving institutional or foster care are not placed at risk of homelessness because appropriate support arrangements are unavailable.
The recommendation promotes a housing-led approach, under which securing suitable and stable accommodation becomes a central element of the response to homelessness.
This differs from policies relying primarily on emergency shelters or temporary accommodation, although such facilities remain necessary for people facing immediate housing difficulties.
Housing-led programmes can include permanent accommodation accompanied by individual support services, depending on the person’s circumstances.
The Council also proposes simplifying access to social and healthcare services through integrated arrangements that allow people to obtain assistance without repeatedly approaching different public authorities.
One suggested model involves providing access to relevant services through a single contact point, with support from social workers, healthcare professionals and other organisations.
However, access to permanent housing ultimately depends on the availability of suitable properties.
The recommendation therefore calls for increased public and private investment in affordable and social housing, renovation of existing accommodation and support for non-profit housing models.
The non-binding character of the recommendation remains one of its principal limitations.
European institutions can coordinate policies, provide guidance and support investment, but national governments and local authorities retain substantial responsibility for housing provision and social welfare arrangements.
The recommendation does not automatically establish a new EU housing entitlement or provide dedicated funding to every Member State.
Its effectiveness will depend on whether governments introduce measures capable of increasing housing supply and reducing the number of people entering homelessness.
The European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless, known as FEANTSA, previously welcomed the Commission’s proposal while identifying shortcomings.
In its assessment of the original proposal, the organisation argued that EU policy should place greater emphasis on permanently ending homelessness rather than primarily managing housing exclusion.
It also questioned the adequacy of funding arrangements and the proposed five-year interval for national progress reporting.
Under the adopted recommendation, Member States are encouraged to provide the European Commission with information on the effectiveness of their national strategies every five years.
The Commission is expected to evaluate national progress and report to the Council five years after the recommendation’s adoption.
The policy follows the European Affordable Housing Plan, presented in December 2025, and the EU’s Anti-Poverty Strategy, introduced in May 2026.
Together, these initiatives seek to expand the Union’s role in coordinating housing policy without transferring national housing responsibilities to Brussels.
The first indication of whether the recommendation will produce measurable results will come from national decisions on social housing investment, eviction prevention and access to permanent accommodation. Without changes to those practical arrangements, the Council’s commitments will remain principally a framework for voluntary cooperation.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Friday, 16 October, that approximately 12,000 people had returned voluntarily to Morocco since August, while the authorities had expanded facilities to process asylum applications and return decisions.
Nevertheless, substantial administrative and humanitarian challenges remain in the Spanish enclave, particularly concerning people awaiting decisions on their legal status and unaccompanied minors. The situation has become an important test of the European Union’s revised migration and asylum legislation.
The crisis began on 30 July, when tens of thousands of people entered Ceuta from Morocco by land and sea following the circulation of misleading information on social media about access to Spanish territory.
According to an October briefing by the European Parliament’s Research Service, approximately 80,000 people crossed into the enclave during the incident, overwhelming local reception facilities and creating an emergency at one of the EU’s few land borders with Africa.
A subsequent European Parliament resolution referred to at least 141 deaths associated with the crossings, although the initial figure reported by Spanish authorities was lower. The exact number of people who crossed and the final death toll have remained subjects of uncertainty.
Most entrants returned to Morocco within days. However, thousands remained, leaving Spain responsible for assessing individual claims, arranging lawful returns and providing appropriate accommodation.
Ceuta’s geographical position complicates these procedures. Although the enclave is Spanish and forms part of the EU, travellers departing for mainland Spain remain subject to specific controls at its ports and airports.
During a visit to Ceuta on 16 October, Grande-Marlaska defended the government’s management of the emergency and announced that additional police resources would substantially increase administrative capacity.
The expanded temporary reception and processing facilities at El Tarajal are intended to handle at least 100 files daily, including applications for international protection and return procedures.
According to figures presented by the Interior Minister, approximately 1,200 applications for international protection had been formally submitted, with around 700 decisions already issued.
He also rejected allegations that the authorities had conducted concealed or involuntary returns, insisting that departures to Morocco had followed voluntary decisions or the appropriate legal procedures.
The minister said more than 500 expulsions had been executed through judicial or administrative decisions in recent months. These are distinct from the approximately 12,000 voluntary returns recorded since August.
The treatment of unaccompanied minors remains contentious. The European Parliament’s research briefing estimated that around 1,100 such minors were in Ceuta, including some who arrived before the July emergency.
Responsibility for their care has generated disagreement between the Spanish central government and Ceuta’s autonomous administration, particularly over guardianship, identification and the distribution of minors to other regions.
The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which began applying in June 2026, was designed to strengthen external border procedures while establishing clearer responsibilities for Member States.
Its provisions include identity and security screening, accelerated procedures for certain asylum applications and a solidarity mechanism allowing countries to support those facing disproportionate migration pressures.
Under the screening rules, the authorities generally have up to seven days to complete the initial checks required for people apprehended after irregular entry.
However, the Ceuta emergency demonstrates the difficulty of applying individual administrative procedures when arrivals occur in exceptionally large numbers within a short period.
The geographical concentration of arrivals means that adequate staffing, interpretation, legal assistance and reception facilities become essential to ensuring the system operates within its prescribed deadlines.
Spain requested assistance from Frontex, Europol and the European Union Agency for Asylum in August. The Commission subsequently announced €114.7 million in emergency assistance in September.
The crisis has widened divisions between European governments over border enforcement and the regularisation of migrants already living within the EU.
Italy and several other Member States have questioned whether Spain’s separate regularisation programme could encourage further irregular migration. Madrid rejects the suggestion that the programme caused the Ceuta crossings.
The Spanish scheme covers only people who met the residence requirements by the end of 2025. Those who arrived during the July 2026 crisis are not eligible.
European Parliament members also adopted a resolution in September calling for stronger protection of the EU’s external borders and greater cooperation with Morocco. The resolution characterised the crisis as involving the possible instrumentalisation of migration, although Spain has said it has no evidence establishing Moroccan government involvement.
The continuing administrative backlog, the position of minors and the effectiveness of EU assistance will determine how quickly Ceuta can return to ordinary border operations.
Beyond Spain, the episode raises a practical question for Brussels: whether Europe’s new asylum framework can maintain border controls and individual legal safeguards simultaneously during an exceptionally large and sudden influx.
French Interior Minister Laurent Núñez offered his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron after nationwide protests on Oct. 17 spiraled into some of the worst urban violence and looting France has seen in years. Macron refused the offer, citing the need for uninterrupted command of the security forces amid ongoing fallout from the unrest.
Núñez, speaking on France Inter Monday morning, was direct: “I submitted my resignation because I am responsible for everything that happens.”
"Je remets ma démission parce que je suis responsable de tout ce qui se passe" : Laurent Nuñez a déposé sa démission au président de la République qui l’a refusée Le ministre de l’Intérieur est au micro de @Ben_Duhamel dans le 7h50 du 19 octobre 2026
— France Inter (@franceinter) October 19, 2026https://t.co/MWEMOE13HA https://t.co/lYQMvwmNj3
He acknowledged a “lack of anticipation” in preparations and said police had “lost control” in certain major cities, according to Le Monde news outlet. Forecasts had put expected turnout at around 200,000; the Interior Ministry later counted roughly 550,000 participants nationwide, while the CGT union estimated 800,000. About 60,000 law-enforcement personnel were deployed, yet the scale overwhelmed them in multiple locations.
A second wave of protests is already being called for on Oct. 24 and Oct. 31, with fears of a new wave of violence and unrest.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 19, 2026
The Saturday demonstrations, called over rising living costs, fuel prices, declining public services, and conditions in schools, began largely peacefully but were overtaken by extreme violence in cities including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Limoges, and Strasbourg.
Masked groups set fires, attacked public buildings, and looted shops. In Limoges, the historic 19th-century town hall was largely destroyed by arson. In Marseille, protesters breached city hall. Nationwide, authorities reported roughly 1,800 to more than 2,400 arrests and nearly 1,000 injured police and gendarmes. Additional clashes occurred in Paris and Marseille on Sunday.
More than 2,000 shops were looted or damaged across the country, with the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimating damages in the hundreds of millions of euros.
Carrefour alone saw about 50 stores affected, with repair costs exceeding €10 million and knock-on effects for employees through reduced hours.
In Paris, the area around Place de la République and the Marais saw systematic looting of supermarkets, electronics stores, bars, wine shops, gold buyers, and clothing retailers.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 19, 2026
According to Welt newspaper, one gold-shop owner told reporters, she received a call from a neighboring restaurant worker who had filmed a group of young people breaking in: “They smashed everything up. They stole things. When I got back, they’d taken everything.”
A Nicolas wine store nearby had its windows and entrance smashed, shelves emptied, and champagne cartons and glass left on the floor. Employees of a Marais fashion boutique described the atmosphere as “dystopian,” with tear gas entering the premises. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire later said entire streets had been “methodically ravaged.”
Ceux qui ont cherché à faire tomber la République auront à en répondre. https://t.co/qtqKUIXPpu
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 18, 2026
The Élysée announced Monday that Macron had rejected the resignation “given the need for continuous command of the security forces in the current situation.” The government was also reportedly considering declaring a state of emergency. However, Núñez has since stated that the government was “absolutely not” considering a state of emergency and would continue with existing public-order tools.
The presidency also acknowledged “failures in anticipation and intelligence-gathering” and directed Núñez to deploy a new doctrine of order maintenance “against the rioters” as quickly as possible, while ensuring transparency over the planning shortfalls.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was scheduled to chair an interministerial crisis unit. Macron himself continued a planned diplomatic tour of Gulf states aimed in part at securing oil and diesel supplies to ease fuel prices.
The post 2,000 shops looted or damaged across France, Macron rejects Interior Minister Núñez resignation offer appeared first on Remix News.
Andy Burnham has announced "big changes" to welfare to get one million NEETs back into work – but only once he's "rebuilt the education system". Sounds expensive, says Mary Gilleece. It’s clearly never going to happen.
The post Andy Burnham Will Never Cut Welfare appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
French right-wing politician Éric Zemmour said Sunday that violent protests and looting the previous day revealed “the true face of the Great Replacement,” citing Palestinian, Algerian and Moroccan flags among demonstrators and alleging ties to antifascist groups and left-wing lawmakers.
During an appearance on French news network LCI, Zemmour said: “What we saw yesterday is the true face of the Great Replacement. It has an appearance: hordes of North African and African barbarians who rampage through cities.”
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 19, 2026
“It has its flags: Palestinian, Algerian and Moroccan. It has its allies, Antifa militias. It has its legal backing, the LFI deputies. It has a mode of operation: looting, raids. And finally, I would say it has an ideological, historical engine: hatred of France and revenge for colonization,” he continued.
Zemmour, a former journalist and author who leads the Reconquête party, has long promoted the “Great Replacement,” which he uses to describe native European populations being demographically supplanted by non-European immigrants, particularly from Muslim-majority countries, Africa, and Asia. The topic is openly discussed in France, including among intellectuals, academics, politicians, and even Michel Houellebecq, arguably the country’s most celebrated living author.
Zemmour’s remarks referred to massive riots on Oct. 17 that occurred in French cities across the country, where protests over the cost of living and public services turned into some of the country’s most violent demonstrations in years. Videos of burning buildings, looted stores, and violent clashes with police were spread across social media.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 17, 2026
Similar unrest occurred the same weekend in northern Italy, including Milan, where youths looted shops and clashed with officers.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 18, 2026
Zemmour’s remarks came at a time when U.S. officials, including Donald Trump, have remarked on the riots as well.
“France is burning! The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country. Close your Borders and take control, before it is too late!” wrote Trump.
Vice President JD Vance also wrote on X: “Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion. They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. They were told it would lead to this and they didn’t listen.”
Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion. They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. They were told it would lead to this and they didn’t listen. I pray that France, a beautiful country of amazing people, will stop this madness before more of its landmarks burn. And I hope Americans are paying attention. This is the future congressional Democrats seek for your country.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) October 18, 2026
Zemmour, who finished fourth in the 2022 presidential election, has remained a prominent voice on immigration ahead of France’s next national vote, but his right-wing rival, Le Pen, is heavily favored to win the presidency. Zemmour typically polls around 5 percent in the first round.
The post ‘The true face of the Great Replacement’ – Right-wing politician Zemmour says French riots driven by ‘hordes of North African and African barbarians’ appeared first on Remix News.
A Spanish public television correspondent was forced to cut short a live report from the French capital Saturday night after several Arab and Black men approached her and made threatening gestures, including one simulating a throat-slitting motion, as nationwide protests turned violent, stores were looted, and historic buildings burned to the ground.
The female TVE journalist, wearing a protective helmet and holding a microphone bearing the network’s logo, was reporting from a Paris street on official figures when the Arab and Black men appeared behind her in video of the broadcast.
During the broadcast, she stated: “According to figures just released by the Minister of the Interior, some 550,000 people have taken to the streets across France and around 400 people have been arrested.”
JUST IN: This is the true face of the French protests. A Spanish TVE journalist was reporting live from Paris when a group of Arab and Black males jumped behind her and made throat-slitting gestures. She was forced to cut off the broadcast. Follow: @RMXnews https://t.co/0HjambGvfC
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 17, 2026
Then, the youths crowded the screen with one Black male raising his arms and drawing a finger across his throat towards the camera. He also gave the middle finger and made shooting motions.
The correspondent continued briefly, noting fires nearby, firefighters responding and the difficulty of maintaining the connection amid the disorder, before the live feed was interrupted.
The episode occurred during a day of demonstrations that began weeks earlier as student protests devolved into mass rioting with thousands of arrests, numerous schools set on fire in arson attacks, and even over 60 teachers and school staff suffering injuries.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 17, 2026
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez put the nationwide turnout at about 550,000, including 110,000 in Paris. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said more than 1,200 people were detained and condemned the “unacceptable levels of violence.” Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire later said entire streets had been devastated.
Violence included clashes with riot police using tear gas and water cannons, looting, and arson. The city hall in Limoges was set ablaze, with its roof collapsing in video footage; similar attacks or defacement targeted buildings in Marseille and Lyon. Authorities reported dozens of injured officers.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 17, 2026
TVE had not issued a detailed public statement on the specific interruption in available reports as of early Sunday. The network’s correspondent was among those working amid the disorder that continued into the night.
The post France: Arab and Black youths make throat-slitting gesture while Spanish journalist reports on French riots appeared first on Remix News.
Difference between French and German borrowing costs widens after public buildings burned and shops looted
France has been hit by a fresh wave of selling in its bond and stock markets after violent protests over the weekend led to thousands of arrests and left public buildings burned and hundreds of shops looted across the country.
The chaos has spooked investors as analysts worried that it would undermine Paris’s efforts to cut spending and reduce its debt.
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© Photograph: SDIS 87/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: SDIS 87/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: SDIS 87/AFP/Getty Images
In today’s newsletter: Violent riots and looting have dominated the headlines, but the unrest gripping the country and beyond reflects deeper public anger over everyday issues
Good morning. I bet your weekend was better than Emmanuel Macron’s. On Friday, the evening before mass protests that were planned across France, he attended a Céline Dion concert in Paris with his wife, Brigitte, prompting comparisons to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. On Sunday evening, he was forced to give a televised speech condemning the “unbridled violence” and riots that erupted in French cities over the weekend.
The rioters that burned makeshift barricades of bicycles in Paris, destroyed the steeple of Limoges’ town hall and set fire to Lyon’s tourism office were described as “LE CHAOS” on the front page of La Tribune Dimanche, and “SCENES D’INSURRECTION” on Le Parisien Dimanche. By Sunday, protests had also taken place in Spain, Portugal and Italy.
The Vatican | Pope Leo told a crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square on Sunday that he would “gradually resume” his activities, at his first appearance before the faithful since undergoing an operation to remove a cancerous tumour from his lung.
UK news | A “well-known individual” is trying to secure a permanent injunction against the Guardian and ITN to prevent them from publishing details of serious allegations made against him.
US politics | Donald Trump fired his immediately embattled new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, on Friday evening after just five days in the job. The conservative commentator becomes the shortest serving occupant of the role in US history.
Reform | A Reform UK mayor is under police investigation for allegedly showing “naked and sexualised” images of himself to a female member of staff. Luke Campbell, a former Olympic boxing champion, is understood to have been questioned under caution by Humberside police.
Energy | The development of a huge AI datacentre hailed by the UK government has received a fresh setback after Microsoft pulled out of the project over concerns about power supplies.
Monday | The two-week biodiversity summit, Cop17, begins in Yerevan, Armenia, as countries come together to seek to protect nature.
Tuesday | The Covid-19 inquiry publishes its report on the adult social care sector.
Sunday | Incumbent Lula da Silva takes on Flavio Bolsonaro in the run-off of the Brazil general election.
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© Photograph: Pascal Lachenaud/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Pascal Lachenaud/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Pascal Lachenaud/AFP/Getty Images
Warning for other Arctic communities as residents told not to use water in Longyearbyen in Svalbard, one of the fastest-warming places in the world
Residents of a remote town in Norway that is in one of the fastest-warming places in the world have been told they must no longer drink tap water due to heavy metal contamination that scientists have linked to the thawing permafrost.
Longyearbyen, in the archipelago of Svalbard, gets its main drinking water supply from a 1.5 mile-long (2.5km) dammed lake called Isdammen, or “ice pond”. Higher temperatures as a result of the climate crisis have thawed permafrost, leading to newly exposed bedrock leaching metals into the pond.
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© Photograph: Rimante_Hegland/Getty Images/iStockphoto
© Photograph: Rimante_Hegland/Getty Images/iStockphoto
© Photograph: Rimante_Hegland/Getty Images/iStockphoto
School conditions, unaffordable housing and the cost of living have brought demonstrators on to the streets in several countries
Young people have been taking to the streets across Europe, including in Spain, France and Portugal, to protest over their unhappiness at the state of schools and the wider cost of living crisis.
In France, high school pupils have clashed with police in often violent protests over long hours, missing teachers, dilapidated classrooms and an opaque university admissions system. Pupils routinely miss months of teaching due to unfilled staff absences.
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© Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters
© Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters
© Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters
Dalle strade del Sud arriva una domanda che riguarda tutto il Paese: chi decide quanto costa produrre in Italia, e chi ne paga il prezzo quando la decisione viene presa altrove.
Una mappa che segue l’energia
A metà ottobre, per un camionista siciliano, tenere il mezzo fermo nel piazzale costa meno che metterlo in strada. Con il gasolio intorno ai 2,40 euro al litro sull’isola, il Comitato autotrasportatori siciliani stima fra 700 e 900 euro di perdita al giorno per ogni camion. Il coordinatore Salvatore Bella l’ha detto senza giri di parole: «Oggi lavorare in perdita con il gasolio a 2,40 al litro non è più possibile». Ne è nato il fermo che va dalla mezzanotte del 16 ottobre al 20, senza cortei: i tir restano nelle aziende, i semirimorchi non vengono ritirati dai porti. In Calabria Fedralog ha fermato i mezzi negli stessi giorni, mentre la sezione trasporti di Confindustria Catania ha deliberato all’unanimità uno stop fino al 22.
Il fermo arriva dopo settimane di mobilitazione. Il 1° ottobre agricoltori e autotrasportatori hanno bloccato lo svincolo di Pizzo sulla A2; il 12 i trattori hanno presidiato le portinerie del polo industriale tra Augusta e Melilli, rallentando il carico delle autobotti, per iniziativa degli stessi produttori e senza sigle sindacali alle spalle. In Puglia i blocchi hanno impedito l’accesso delle autocisterne alla raffineria Eni di Taranto, a ridosso dell’ex Ilva, i cui lavoratori sono in sciopero dal 12 ottobre. Gli olivicoltori sommano al caro carburante il calo del prezzo dell’olio. Il 22 toccherà ai pescatori: giornata di sciopero nazionale e cento pescherecci a chiudere simbolicamente lo Stretto di Messina.
La geografia dei presìdi dice qualcosa che i comunicati non dicono. Raffinerie, porti, svincoli autostradali, lo Stretto: chi protesta va a colpire i nodi da cui passa l’energia, come se sapesse bene dove nasce il problema. E c’è un paradosso evidente. Il Sud ospita Augusta, Priolo, Taranto, cioè una parte rilevante della capacità di raffinazione del Paese, ma i produttori che vivono a pochi chilometri da quegli impianti non riescono più a pagarne il prodotto.
La guerra arriva alla pompa
Queste proteste sono la coda italiana di una crisi aperta lontano. I rincari sono partiti con la guerra in Iran e con le difficoltà di approvvigionamento dal Golfo: già a fine marzo, nel Siracusano, il gasolio agricolo era salito da 0,88 a 1,45 euro al litro. A settembre la media nazionale del gasolio superava i 2,16 euro, 35 centesimi più di febbraio; il 12 ottobre il self costava in media 2,252 euro. La crisi di Hormuz, che finora abbiamo letto soprattutto come stress test per le petromonarchie e per i flussi finanziari del Golfo, ha anche una trasmissione verso il basso. Lungo la catena, ogni anello scarica il costo su quello successivo, finché arriva a chi non ha nessuno a valle: il piccolo autotrasportatore che non può ritoccare le tariffe, l’agricoltore che vende a prezzi fissati dalla grande distribuzione.
Le isole pagano due volte. Al carburante si sommano i noli marittimi, appesantiti dalle nuove regole ambientali sul trasporto navale, e i ritardi del Sea Modal Shift, l’ex Marebonus che dovrebbe compensare il costo del passaggio via mare da e per la Sicilia e la cui prima annualità non è stata pagata entro giugno. Le risposte arrivate finora agiscono sul prezzo alla pompa (tagli temporanei delle accise, il tetto annunciato da Eni sulla propria rete dal 28 settembre) e quasi mai sulla struttura dei costi. Per un trattore che brucia 300 euro di gasolio a mattina, uno sconto di 15 centesimi non cambia i conti.
Letta con gli strumenti dell’analisi dei sistemi-mondo, la vicenda ha una forma riconoscibile: gli shock esterni attraversano il centro e si depositano sulla periferia, che ha meno margini per assorbirli. Il Mezzogiorno funziona da periferia interna dell’Europa. Importa energia a prezzi di mercato globale, esporta prodotti agricoli in competizione con importazioni soggette a standard diversi, dipende da una logistica strada-mare che nessun incentivo pagato in ritardo riesce a rendere sostenibile. Su questo si innestano fragilità di lungo periodo come il credito difficile, lo spopolamento e l’arretramento dei servizi, che l’autonomia differenziata rischia di accentuare.
La copertura nazionale ha registrato i blocchi come cronaca del traffico più che come fatto politico. È una scelta che pesa: una protesta trattata come disagio stradale non obbliga nessuno a rispondere sul merito. Eppure il merito è chiaro. Un Paese che importa gli effetti delle guerre altrui senza strumenti propri per governare il costo dell’energia finisce per trasferirli sui territori e sulle categorie più deboli.
Per le prossime settimane gli indicatori da seguire sono pochi e osservabili: un intervento specifico sul gasolio agricolo e da autotrazione, il pagamento del Sea Modal Shift, l’eventuale proroga dei fermi oltre il 20 e il 22, la saldatura con lo sciopero dei pescatori. In assenza di misure, gli stessi promotori siciliani hanno già prospettato di proseguire. Se accadrà, sarà difficile continuare a chiamarla una vertenza di categoria.
Dalle strade del Sud arriva una domanda che riguarda tutto il Paese: chi decide quanto costa produrre in Italia, e chi ne paga il prezzo quando la decisione viene presa altrove.
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets across the country to demonstrate against rising fuel prices and the cost of living
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© Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images
Hoy Canadá es un Estado rumbo al totalitarismo, desde la pantalla de una democracia liberal, es un patrocinador del nazismo, paga asistencia en eutanasia a los pobres y, además, no deja que los ciudadanos se expresen sin fuertes retaliaciones.
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Escríbenos: info@strategic-culture.su
Continuar dependiendo de la asistencia induce a una desintegración espiritual y moral fundamentalmente destructiva para la fibra nacional. Dar asistencia de esta manera es administrar un narcótico, un sutil destructor del espíritu humano.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
El trabajo es la condición inevitable de la vida humana, la verdadera fuente del bienestar humano. Ahora comprendo que mi bienestar solo es posible si reconozco mi unidad con todos los pueblos del mundo sin excepción.
Leo Tolstói
El Estado de malestar
Como excolonia británica, y miembro de la Commonwealth de manera ‘voluntaria’ dicen, Canadá se jacta de su orden y políticas migratorias claras y atractivas, así como de tener un país con un sólido Estado de Bienestar, yo diría, de malestar. Muy en la línea de la frase de Roosevelt con la que inicio este artículo.
Creer en algún tipo de bienestar puede ser cierto para los migrantes en su mayoría latinos, que son recluidos en zonas distantes de los centros urbanos y asimilados durante cinco años de arduo trabajo llamado permiso de trabajo cerrado (employer-specific – closed work permit) Permiso de trabajo restringido/específico para empleadores. Estos trabajadores ‘agradecen’ ser explotados, consideran que es mejor la promesa de la vida ‘civilizada y marginal’ a la de sus países -colonias éstos de empresas canadienses- y asumen formas de vasallaje y esclavitud.
Al respecto, tras más de cinco años de uso intensivo y varias décadas de existencia del programa de empleo se llegó a unos acuerdos entre defensores de derechos de migrantes y Amnistía Internacional, de lo cual extraigo parte del informe del relator especial de la ONU sobre formas contemporáneas de esclavitud, titulado ‘Canada has destroyed me’: Labour exploitation of migrant workers in Canada, (Canadá me ha destruido»: Explotación laboral de trabajadores migrantes en Canadá), publicado el 30 de enero de 2025:
El sistema genera una relación de poder extremadamente desigual.
El empleador no solo controla el trabajo, sino también el estatus migratorio del trabajador.
Perder el empleo puede significar perder el derecho a trabajar y, potencialmente, enfrentar la salida del país. Eso crea un miedo constante que dificulta mucho:
Denunciar abusos (horas excesivas, salarios por debajo de lo prometido, condiciones inseguras, acoso, vivienda precaria, etc.).
Negociar mejores condiciones.
Dejar un trabajo tóxico sin arriesgar todo.
Amnistía Internacional y el relator de la ONU han llegado a describir el estado de bajos salarios del TFWP como un “caldo de cultivo” o “breeding ground” [Centro de reproducción] de formas contemporáneas de esclavitud.
No es una exageración retórica: hay múltiples reportes documentados de explotación sistemática, especialmente en agricultura, cuidado, procesamiento de alimentos, construcción y hostelería.
Por otro lado, el suicidio implica una de las situaciones de salud pública más graves del país norteamericano. Aproximadamente 4500 a 4750 suicidios al año que equivalen a unos 12-13 suicidios diarios. Es la segunda causa de muerte en personas entre los 15 y los 34 años. Los hombres cometen el acto de quitarse la vida 3 veces por cada mujer y son los del rango de edad entre 45 y 64 años quienes más lo culminan.
Pero Canadá tenía una solución. Han ‘avanzado’ en la ‘misericordia’ de la eutanasia para pobres. Así como se oye.
Esto está documentado por Associated Press: (El comité que revisa la eutanasia en Canadá concluye que algunas muertes están motivadas por el temor a quedarse sin hogar y por el aislamiento.); The Global and Mail: (Las tasas de asistencia médica para morir por enfermedades no terminales en Ontario son más altas en los barrios más pobres, según informes.), The conversation: (La asistencia médica para morir y las personas marginadas: informes del forense arrojan luz sobre la muerte asistida en Ontario) y el Comité de Revisión de Muertes del Forense, Jefe de Ontario (2024), son los que detallan casos específicos, como la mujer con sensibilidad química múltiple que no encontraba vivienda adecuada, o personas con aislamiento y pobreza.
Aunque se insistiera en señalar que son casos aislados, lo cierto es que no se trata sólo de una política sanitaria mal enfocada. Casos documentados como los señalados permiten ver algo que debería ser impensable en un auto denominado país del primer mundo: facilitar la muerte a alguien por su condición de precariedad económica y material es la clara expresión del FRACASO de su Estado de bienestar.
Es clave y doloroso cuando “afirmó el Dr. Trouton (en artículo de Associated Press): Es trágico que la calidad de vida de las personas sea tan deficiente que deseen explorar la MAID [asistencia médica para morir]”
En la publicación oficial Maytree se aprecia que:
En 2025, el 98 % de los hogares de ejemplo en asistencia social vivían por debajo de la línea oficial de pobreza, y el 71-72 % en “pobreza profunda” (menos del 75 % de esa línea). Los ingresos reales cayeron para muchos por inflación y la eliminación de rebates del carbon tax [reembolsos del impuesto al carbono]. Los beneficios de vivienda (shelter) son extremadamente bajos y no cubren costos reales; las personas sin hogar reciben menos apoyo.
A lo anterior se suma la crisis de vivienda, semejante a la de Estados Unidos, en donde al menos hace veinte años no se construye vivienda de interés social, lo que mantiene elevados los precios de renta y de compra; y, además se favorecen los desmanes de los que toman en arriendo propiedades. Ni siquiera en la política de inclusión a las comunidades indígenas maltratadas y esterilizadas para evitar su procreación, les cumplen con el tema habitacional. El tema de los ‘sintecho’ tiende a acrecentarse.
Hay otras formas de atentar contra sus propios ciudadanos, por ejemplo, a los propietarios les obligan a pagar multas y demandas inverosímiles si un inquilino hace ruido a los vecinos o daños, el que rentó de buena fe debe pagar. A ello se suma que para pedir el inmueble es necesario una suma de piruetas legales y justificar, no que rentará a alguien más, sino que se irá a vivir a su propio inmueble.
Alrededor de 6,5 millones de canadienses se encuentran sin médico de familia, o sea el 16% de su población total, 41,8 millones. Además, los tiempos de espera en horas en urgencias, es elevado; a menudo 8-16 horas o más, pues manejan la anticuada y tercermundista medida del Triage, inventado para las prioridades de tiempos de emergencia en la Primera Guerra Mundial.
Los ciudadanos deben esperar semanas y hasta meses para tener consultas con especialistas y hay estimaciones documentadas de decenas de miles de muertes anuales mientras esperan cirugía o diagnósticos. En cuanto a médicos y enfermeras, se encuentra Canadá por debajo del promedio de la OCDE, con retrasos en licenciar profesionales.
En cuanto a políticas para protección de la infancia, las tarifas de apoyo económico para quienes consiguen plaza bajaron, pero se generaron listas de espera masivas y en algunos lugares se triplicaron. Se tiene así una brecha de inequidad en donde algunas familias pagan muy poco y otras a veces de bajos ingresos, quedan fuera o pagan mucho más, mientras financian el sistema con impuestos. Tampoco se crearon suficientes espacios ni se atendió la falta de profesores.
Esto parece una historia del mundo subdesarrollado, haitiana, colombiana o etíope, pero pasa en Canadá. Ya no les basta con explotar a los países periféricos, sus propios ciudadanos financian a los ricos de su país cada vez de manera más próxima a la letalidad.
En cuanto a reducción de la pobreza y seguridad alimentaria, Canadá cayó al puesto 27.º luego de ocupar el 5° puesto entre países OCDE en protección del derecho a la alimentación, ubicándose en la categorización de ‘inseguridad alimentaria moderada/severa’.
Además, hay un creciente uso de bancos de alimentos, lo que se traduce en una política paliativa para contener lo que no logra una política integral de impuestos a ricos y de creación de puestos de empleo, espacio en donde, por el contrario, se ha agudizado el trabajo precario y, por ende, asumir el costo de vida.
En este tema de empleo – ingresos para la subsistencia, Canadá tiene un programa de renta básica, que lamentablemente es insuficiente. Evelyn L. Forget es una economista de renombre en Canadá, estudia la economía detrás de la propuesta de ingreso básico. Se recomienda su estudio, Basic Income for Canadians. From the Covid-19 Emergency to Financial Security for All. Toronto, (Ingreso básico para los canadienses. De la emergencia de la Covid-19 a la seguridad financiera para todos. Toronto) Libro de James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers, 2020.
Sólo para dejar la curiosidad de los lectores, Forget dice, citando a otros autores:
«El empleo precario representa una proporción cada vez mayor del empleo total en Canadá y está fuertemente asociado a un peor estado de salud de los trabajadores».
Existe una «relación estrecha entre los ingresos y los resultados de salud. Las disparidades son profundas: unos ingresos más bajos se asocian a una menor esperanza de vida, así como a tasas más elevadas de autolesiones y de enfermedades crónicas».
«El estrés crónico se ha vinculado a diversos cambios hormonales y neurológicos que repercuten negativamente en la salud. Deteriora la memoria, aumenta el riesgo de depresión, reduce la respuesta inmunitaria y eleva la presión arterial y el riesgo de enfermedades cardiovasculares».
Se encuentra además la creciente crisis de opioides, con una cantidad alarmante de más de 38.000 a 50.000 muertes desde 2016. Esto ha llevado al desarrollo de algunos debates sobre el fracaso o efectos secundarios de “safe supply” (suministro seguro) y la criminalización en algunas provincias, cuando de un Estado primermundista se esperaría una percepción correcta no criminalizando a los consumidores sino comprendiéndolos en un contexto de atención de la salud pública e integral.
Así, todas las crisis de vivienda y demás bienes y servicios que mencioné con anterioridad, reciben más presión ante los altos niveles de inmigración temporal y de refugiados.
Los asuntos internacionales como problema nacional
El Estado de Bienestar es en mi concepto la expresión más clara del escenario de la lucha ideológica de la posguerra mundial; justo en ese momento en que Inglaterra, Estados Unidos y toda Europa decidió que el ‘aliado soviético’ era un loco comunista, dejando atrás las alabanzas a aquel pueblo ruso trabajador plasmadas en discursos, caricaturas y cine.
El comunismo como una fiebre que acabaría con la libertad, aniquilador de la posibilidad de ser y de tener dentro del inmenso ‘arsenal de mercancías’ restringido a la finitud de cada bolsillo, en el capitalismo, debía ser contestado. Ya no eran Hitler ni Mussolini ni Franco, -aunque éste fue un fascista solitario- los enemigos del ‘mundo libre’, lo era el Estado socialista soviético y sus aliados.
Pero el terreno más claro de la disputa se daba allí donde se gana la atención de las masas: en los derechos adquiridos, en la capacidad de sentirse orgulloso de ser un ciudadano de su país por esas mismas ganancias que le daba su Estado de Bienestar, como decía J. Habermas. Es en efecto lo que busca todo migrante además de todo ciudadano: hacerse a una ciudadanía que le dé garantías en consecuencia a su trabajo.
De esta forma, tanto Europa como EE.UU. se vieron obligados a otorgar a sus ciudadanos garantías similares a las conquistadas por la Revolución rusa de 1917, también de manera vanguardista para mujeres e infancia. El Plan Marshal de reconstrucción europea no es otra cosa que atemperar los ánimos de los ciudadanos dolidos por la guerra y volcarlos al boom de la procreación bajo el amparo de un sólido Estado de Bienestar capitalista que les impidiera mirar hacia el régimen socialista soviético y universal. Éste se explica en la frase de Tolstói con la que inicio este artículo, inherente a una concepción universal del hacer para todos, anterior a las guerras del siglo XX.
Se acabó el sistema soviético hace treinta y seis años, pero los nazis sólo dormitaban. Inició la guerra en Ucrania en 2022 y los parlamentos europeos y occidentales comenzaron a recibir a los nazis, esos mismos que fueron enemigos en apariencia. Canadá los recibió y los homenajeó (Yaroslav Hunka a sus 92 años era buscado por asesinatos en Polonia).
Canadá los apoya y ya con un pálido Estado de Bienestar que es más de malestar, apoya a los mismos sujetos del Batallón Azov y a todos quienes asesinan el bienestar cada día en Ucrania mediante: reclutamiento forzoso (busificación), incluso a personas con discapacidad o ancianos, maltrato a las mujeres, alistamiento y entrenamiento de jóvenes colegiales en el campo militar, corrupción que niega salud, empleo y vivienda, -todo excusado en la guerra-, venta de tierras fértiles a poderosos extranjeros y nacionales etc.; pues aunque dicen que es prohibido, BlackRock ya compró tierras fértiles.
Canadá es la expresión de un régimen totalitario que en cualquier momento puede ascender a fascista, en tanto lleva nazis al parlamento y los premia, envía armas y partes de drones a Ucrania, les da dinero y desarrolla actividades anti rusas, entre ellas intentar robar reservas de dinero.
También privilegia a la población ucraniana en suelo canadiense – Ley CUAET, donde se otorga un régimen de emergencia humanitario de entrada fácil, permisos de trabajo abiertos, extensiones, pausa de deportaciones, aunque éstas pueden reactivarse si Zelensky solicita deportaciones para su busificación. Todas estas garantías no se las dan a los propios canadienses, ni a rusos ni ruso-canadienses.
No le basta con ello. Desarrolló una ley de Prohibición de “dealings” -operaciones- y suministro de servicios (SEMA) donde no permite negociar, prestar servicios o recibir pagos de entidades listadas en: Special Economic Measures Act (artículo 8 sobre penas) dicho artículo señala que:
Toda persona que infrinja o incumpla deliberadamente una orden o un reglamento dictado en virtud de la sección 4: (a) comete una infracción punible mediante procedimiento sumario y está sujeta a una multa no superior a veinticinco mil dólares o a una pena de prisión no superior a un año, o a ambas penas; o (b) comete un delito grave (*indictable offence*) y está sujeta a una pena de prisión no superior a cinco años.
Sección 3 – Transacciones y actividades prohibidas: Se prohíbe a toda persona en Canadá y a todo canadiense fuera de Canadá: (a) realizar operaciones con cualquier bien, independientemente de dónde se encuentre, que sea propiedad de, esté en posesión de o esté controlado por —o en nombre de— una persona cuyo nombre figure en el Anexo 1; (b) celebrar o facilitar, directa o indirectamente, cualquier transacción relacionada con una operación mencionada en el apartado (a); (c) prestar servicios financieros o de otra índole conexos en relación con una operación mencionada en el apartado (a); (d) poner bienes a disposición de una persona que figure en el Anexo 1 o de una persona que actúe en su nombre, independientemente de dónde se encuentren dichos bienes;…
Esta ley está dirigida en contra de la libertad de expresión al poner a las entidades que desee incluir el acta, también las norcoreanas, iraníes o cubanas y principalmente las rusas para la cual fue creada la ley. Esto evita que se hable de los desaciertos de sus políticas, la mala gestión de su política de bienestar y el desastre de su libertad de expresión, mientras critican a Corea del Norte o Irán como regímenes totalitarios, pero Canadá lo es más porque dice regirse por una concepción moderna y liberal, pero hace todo lo contrario.
Ellos lucharon contra los nazis cuando ya los soviéticos avanzaban hacia Berlín. Pero siempre mantuvieron simpatías con el nazismo. Una vez acabó la URSS y los motivos por los cuales disputar con un Estado de Bienestar lleno de derechos, volvieron a la privatización y la mala calidad de la gestión pública, poco a poco durante 36 años.
Hoy Canadá es un Estado rumbo al totalitarismo, desde la pantalla de una democracia liberal, es un patrocinador del nazismo, paga asistencia en eutanasia a los pobres y, además, no deja que los ciudadanos se expresen sin fuertes retaliaciones. En síntesis, como todo occidente, es una fachada primermundista, -que señalé en artículo titulado: André Gunder Frank: «El subdesarrollo del desarrollo» avanza en Occidente– con entrañas fascistas y un tercermundismo ciudadano que hoy sale a protestar a las calles en Europa.
Es lamentable que las personas quieran ir a un país así, en donde son desechables en tanto pobres, explotados como mano de obra barata y marginados sin derecho a expresarse. Canadá es la fachada que encubre la miseria y el totalitarismo.
* Todas las imágenes de la ciudad de Toronto.
On the night between Oct 7-8, 2026, in the Porto Vecchio area of Sanremo, a 13-year-old boy of Tunisian origin poured gasoline on a sleeping homeless man and set him on fire in an attempt to steal his backpack.
The incident took place in Piazzale Vesco. According to reports based on surveillance footage, the boy first filled a bottle with gasoline at a nearby pump, approached the man while he slept, poured the fuel on him — primarily on the legs, according to multiple accounts — and ignited it with a match. The goal was reportedly to take the backpack containing the victim’s belongings.
The man’s screams alerted personnel from the Coast Guard. Carabinieri and emergency medical services also responded. The victim, described in reports as a foreign man of approximately 40 years of age, with one account referring to a French man in his sixties, sustained burns to his legs. He was hospitalized for two days at Sanremo’s Ospedale Hospital before being discharged, according to Il Giornale media outlet.
Surveillance cameras operated by the Capitaneria and the Municipality of Sanremo recorded much of the incident.
Investigators identified the 13-year-old, who had initially fled the scene. He was located in a community facility where he lives with his mother.
Under Italian law, anyone under the age of 14 is subject to an absolute presumption of non-imputability. This means the boy cannot be held criminally responsible or subjected to ordinary criminal punishment, regardless of the severity of the act. The juvenile prosecutor’s office in Genoa is handling the case and can consider protective or rehabilitative measures focused on the minor’s situation.
Some coverage has described the migrant youth having prior contact with authorities in Sanremo, though details remain limited as the matter falls under juvenile proceedings.
The post Italy: 13-year-old Tunisian sets sleeping homeless man on fire to steal his backpack, not criminally liable due to age appeared first on Remix News.
German Police are investigating ten suspects ages 13 to 15, including suspects from Syria and Chechnya, in connection with a violent assault and robbery of a student outside a secondary school Wednesday, according to the Eastern Police Directorate.
Videos of the attack has been posted to social media, which shows the beating from two different angles.
JUST IN: A German youth was severely beaten by a mob of migrant youths just outside a school in Frankfurt (Oder). The incident happened in front of the Heinrich-von-Kleist School. The suspects released the video with a gangster rap soundtrack. Follow: @RMXnews https://t.co/UeRGRnEeMW
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 16, 2026
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 16, 2026
The attack occurred in front of the Heinrich von Kleist High School. A video that police consider authentic shows roughly ten youths surrounding the student. One appears to demand something from him; he shows his empty pockets. Moments later, he is punched in the face.
Other members of the group then punch and kick him, including kicks to the head, and continue the assault after he falls to the ground and is defenseless. The victim sustained facial injuries and reported the incident to police the same day, authorities said.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) July 3, 2026
The ten suspects are Syrians, Chechens, Polish, Russian, Syrian, and German nationals, the Eastern Police Directorate told local broadcaster Oderwelle. They face charges of aggravated assault and robbery. Investigators have secured the circulating video and received numerous tips from the public.
On Thursday, officers conducted an operation at the Ulrich von Hutten High School, that police linked to the case. Several youths were questioned and searched. Sören Schunke, headmaster of the Heinrich von Kleist school, said the attackers were not students at his institution. It remains unclear whether any of the suspects attend the Hutten school.
Frankfurt (Oder) Mayor Axel Strasser, an independent, expressed outrage in a video message.
“What was done to a young person here in Frankfurt (Oder) leaves me speechless. It hurts to have to witness such violence. And it makes me angry that a youth has to experience something like this,” he said.
He added that violence has no place in the city and offered condolences to the student and his family. Strasser said he had spoken by phone with Brandenburg Interior Minister Jan Redmann of the CDU and that security talks involving police, school authorities and other partners would be held to address youth violence.
The Frankfurt (Oder) case comes amid a series of recent youth-group attacks in Potsdam that Redmann has described as predominantly migrant-linked, including suspects of Syrian nationality. On Sept. 25, roughly 20 people — mostly migrants, according to the minister — entered a private party uninvited and attacked guests. The following day, three youths were assaulted by a group of about 25 and injured, which Remix News reported on.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 3, 2026
Additional attacks in early October left victims with head injuries requiring hospital treatment. Authorities are monitoring a group of roughly 25 mostly migrant suspects in connection with the Potsdam incidents. Currently, two alleged ringleaders are in pretrial detention and police presence has been increased.
Redmann has said foreign perpetrators, particularly Syrians whose protection status can be revoked, could face deportation. “Whoever comes to Germany and simply has no respect for Germany, we will not tolerate that,” he told the state parliament. “The rule of law has the final say.”
As Remix News has reported in the past, 40 percent of cases of school violence involve foreigners in Germany.
The post Germany: Migrant mob beats German student outside his school and films the attack appeared first on Remix News.
Germany’s migration and asylum policies have cost the state at least €400 billion, according to calculations by Welt journalist Björn Harms. Other estimates have gone far higher, including into the trillions, when broader follow-on effects of migration are included. These massive figure will only add to the growing debate about mass immigration into high social-welfare countries like Germany.
As for the data, much of it comes directly from the German government, according to Welt. The federal government alone recorded over €242 billion in “refugee-related expenditures” from 2016 to 2025. Official figures from Bundestag reports and the Federal Ministry of Finance confirm the annual totals.
If this is broken down by year, it shows €20.1 billion in 2016, rising to peaks of €28.3 billion in 2022 and €29.6 billion in 2023, then €28 billion in 2024 and €24.8 billion in 2025.
The sum over ten years is €242.5 billion, representing roughly 5.8 percent of total federal budget outlays over the period. These cover social transfers after asylum procedures, integration measures, payments to states and municipalities, and related programs.
The 16 state governments also contributed more than €100 billion from their own budgets. Municipalities added further billions, along with follow-on costs in healthcare, education, and the justice system. Independent reconstructions place a consolidated central estimate near €340 billion, while others go up to €450 billion with add-ons.
However, even these numbers pale in comparison to what some academics have researched. For example, top German academic on public finances Prof. Bernd Raffelhüschen of the University of Freiburg, produced a study in 2024 that indicated that mass immigration may cost Germany up to €19.2 trillion. His study also found that mass immigration had already cost the country €5.8 trillion.
Harms and others describe the €400 billion figure as a minimum. The reason why this figure is treated as a “minimum” is because experts have been unable to truly compile costs for a broad range of areas, which surely total tens of billions over the course of a decade. These areas include court costs and criminal justice.
Germany spends between €9 billion and €20 billion a year on criminal justice. As Remix News has reported before, an astronomically disproportionate share of these criminals are foreigners, meaning that foreigners are costing Germany billions every year just on criminal justice.
Just one example involves the case of Saudi national Taleb A, who plowed his vehicle into a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, killing six people and injuring over 300. The custom-built court constructed specifically to host the trial of Taleb A. cost €4.5 million.
This specialized, high-security facility was constructed by the court in Magdeburg to handle the large-scale proceedings, which included accommodations and seating space for more than 170 co-plaintiffs and their respective legal teams.
That is just one migrant.
The billions in criminal justice costs do not even cover police and internal security. Crime has risen in Germany substantially since 2016. During that year, according to Eurostat records, Germany had approximately 244,318 total police officers. At the time, that equated to roughly 2,992 officers per one million people, or a density of around 301 per 100,000 inhabitants.
The Federal Police force has grown to around 55,000 to 60,000 total employees (including roughly 41,000 active frontline officers) to manage expanded mandates across national borders, transportation hubs, and airports.
Paying all these new police officers, who are tasked with policing an increasingly violent country, is not only an enormous cost in terms of money, but has led to tens of thousands of lives shattered and destroyed. When a young woman is raped by a migrant or an aspiring doctor is beaten to the point that he has to abandon his medical career, it is difficult to even calculate the true financial cost of such incidents, but in many ways, these incidents have no price tag. They are too horrific to even quantify.
Of course, there are also tens of billions spent on education for migrants, which are not included in the €400 billion total. In addition, Germany has an extensive network of kindergartens, which foreigners also gain access to. In some states like Berlin, the daycare system is entirely supported by taxpayers to the tune of €2.5 billion a year, while the share of kindergarten-age children with a migration background is at 57.4 percent.
There are also deportation costs, administrative overhead, hospital and medical care, and the list goes on.
The real figure may be difficult to calculate with total accuracy, but it is surely larger than €400 billion.
Germans have also paid in other ways, including in higher rental costs, more traffic, crowded schools, and longer wait times at hospitals. Again, not all of these costs are even quantifiable, but the increase the increase in rental costs alone has cost Germans additional billions.
It is also important to note that there are hundreds of thousands of migrants who are becoming naturalized at a rapid pace and already millions of migrants who have been naturalized in previous decades. These migrants and their children use schools, often require welfare, and also need healthcare. Yet, none of these costs are counted towards the tax burden on Germans. In total, there have been further tens of billions spent on these groups, increasingly in the education system which has the highest share of Germans with a migration background. Many of these groups also continue to be a net economic burden on Germany, such as the Turkish population.
Accommodation absorbs a large share. The federal government does not even know the total number of asylum accommodations nationwide. An inquiry by Harms to all 401 districts and independent cities produced responses from 320 (about 80 percent). These authorities reported at least 4,437 communal accommodations housing nearly 295,000 residents as of March 2026 — an average of almost 14 per responding district. Extrapolated nationwide, this implies roughly one person in every 227 in Germany lives in taxpayer-financed asylum accommodation.
Harms notes that hotel owners, private landlords, and public companies have all massively benefited. In Hamburg, the municipal company Fördern & Wohnen, which is 100 percent owned by the city, handles a large share of asylum accommodation. He notes that turnover rose from €60 million in 2013 to €747 million in 2025, and staff grew from 948 employees in 2014 to around 2,228 by 2025.
The company operates more than 200 sites and has expanded capacity amid non-European immigration. A former managing director who served less than five months in 2025 received payments totaling €453,000, including a substantial severance, according to the company’s annual report.
Similar patterns appear elsewhere: long-term leases on converted offices and hotels, with public entities acting as both demand drivers and suppliers. In Berlin, a former office complex on Hasenheide in Kreuzberg is becoming an accommodation for up to 921 people. First residents were scheduled to move in from early October 2026. The lease runs roughly ten years, into the mid-2030s, paid from public funds. Conversion costs have not been disclosed, citing commercial confidentiality.
The Hasenheide project and the decade of accumulated costs illustrate the continuity. Rents and operating expenses continue into the 2030s, financed by the same solidarity community that underwrites the wider system.
The Welt article also notes that immigration since 2015 has driven expansion in the social and welfare sector. The number of social workers and social pedagogues rose from about 278,000 in 2015 to 351,000, with the Federal Employment Agency linking part of the growth to refugee-related demand for counseling, care, and support.
Integration courses illustrate the mixed results of large spending. The federal government has allocated around €1.3 billion in peak years, with 2024 near €1.2 billion before later adjustments. Yet outcomes are limited, according to Welt. Roughly 55 percent of those who take the final test reach the target B1 language level, meaning a substantial share — often cited in the range of six in ten depending on the metric of “graduation” or successful completion of the full course and exam — leave without the intended language qualification. Pass rates for B1 have hovered in the mid-50s in recent data, with many achieving only A2 or lower.
Harms further notes that the business of asylum migration has created durable economic interests. In other words, there are people and institutions getting rich for the millions of migrant who have come, which fuels demands for even more immigration.
Public companies, private landlords, course providers, NGOs, and expanded social services all draw ongoing revenue. Critics note that the loudest advocates of open borders and expansive humanitarianism rarely live next to the accommodations or send their children to the schools under the greatest pressure. Residents in affected neighborhoods and local workers experience the practical strains directly.
While governments speak of a “migration turnaround,” the broader pro-migration complex continues. Demands for a world without borders, which claim “no human is illegal,” persist among advocacy groups. These powerful groups have a keen interest in keeping the mass migration machine going, and so far, they have largely succeeded even if the majority of Germans are opposed.
The post Migration has cost German taxpayers at least €400 billion since 2016 appeared first on Remix News.
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