The third European People’s Party regular summit of 2025 at Hotel Sofitel, Brussels. connect@epp.eu, CC-BY-4.0
Bruno Retailleau, the president of France’s centre-right party Les Républicains (LR), has outlined a tougher immigration platform as he seeks to win over right-wing voters, especially National Rally (RN).
In an interview with the right-wing magazine Valeurs Actuelles, Retailleau argued that immigration has become a liability rather than an asset for France.
“Immigration is not an opportunity but a burden; it costs us far more than it brings us,” he said.
Retailleau argued that “Africa’s future lies not in Europe, but on the African continent”.
He rejected the idea that climate change could justify large-scale migration to Europe or “serve as a pretext for a change in civilisation”.
The LR leader also reiterated his support for holding a referendum on immigration. He did not, however, specify what question would be put to French voters.
Calls for referendums on immigration have become morecommon across Europe. In Switzerland, voters were recently asked to decide whether to cap the country’s population at 10 million through the so-called “Sustainability Initiative” which was ultimately rejected by 54 per cent of voters.
He vowed to push for changes to EU rules so that humanitarian or territorial visas would only be valid in the member state that issued them.
“As for birthright citizenship, I’m in favour of abolishing it,” he said arguing that birthright citizenship was based on the assumption that immigrants and their children would assimilate into French society.
“That process no longer works,” he explained.
The former interior minister also vowed to “drastically reduce” family reunification and tighten access to France’s welfare system.
“Similarly, I will put an end to automatic benefits for foreigners arriving in France: they will have to wait five years of legal residence and employment to be eligible,” he said.
Many of Retailleau’s proposals echo long-standing positions advocated by the National Rally, particularly on welfare eligibility and immigration controls, suggesting ahis n effort to appeal to voters on the Right of the political spectrum.
He also appeared to leave the door open to future parliamentary cooperation with the RN. If elected President, Retailleau said he would have “no objection” to National Rally lawmakers supporting his reforms on immigration or criminal justice.
Since taking over the leadership of Les Républicains, the successor to the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) founded under former president Jacques Chirac, Retailleau has been pushing to steer the party in a more hardline direction on immigration, identity and law and order.
An Australian woman is on trial for criticizing males who attempt to breastfeed. Jasmine Sussex was sued by trans-identified male Adrian “Jennifer” Buckley for alleged “vilification” after raising concerns online about biological males attempting to “chestfeed” newborn babies.
The conflict originated in 2019 when Buckley, a paramedic, posted on Facebook about inducing lactation in order to breastfeed his infant son. At the time, while Buckley’s wife was still pregnant, he publicly shared that he was taking hormones to grow breasts and explained: “For the past six weeks I have been taking a drug called domperidone to increase prolactin in an attempt to be able to produce breast milk so that I can have the experience of breastfeeding.”
Sussex subsequently made a series of public social media posts criticizing men’s attempts to breastfeed or “chestfeed,” as it is occasionally called: to induce lactation via the use of drugs and hormones in order for a male to nurse an infant. Sussex condemned the practice as “experimental” and at times, a “dangerous fetish,” to which Buckley took offense.
Sussex, a mother of three children, was formerly a volunteer breastfeeding counselor with the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) for nearly 20 years, where she assisted new mothers in inducing lactation and breastfeeding their babies. However, Sussex was dismissed from her role with the ABA in 2021 after pushing back against the adoption of “gender neutral” language in breastfeeding care.
Specifically, the ABA said that she had “overused” words such as “mother” and “mum” during consultations, though the ABA has since denied ever disciplining a counselor for using those terms.
In November of 2023, Sussex was officially notified by the Queensland Human Rights Commission that she was being investigated as a result of a complaint lodged by Buckley, who accused her of vilification and discrimination under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991, which was amended in 2013 under the Gillard government to include provisions regarding “gender identity.”
“I am a transgender woman who, under medical supervision was able to induce lactation and was able to feed my child breast milk for a very brief time in 2019,” Buckley wrote in his 2023 complaint.
A man participated in an article in which he claims he breast fed his newborn child. A breast feeding counsellor responded with disgust and alarm. Now she is being sued for villification by that man. Yesterday there was a hearing to determine whether evidence on the material…
“Jasmine Sussex is a gender critical (GC) Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF). She didn’t agree with the ABA’s Decision to be supportive of LGBTQI families, specifically Transgender Parents and did not agree with the use of gender inclusive language,” Buckley’s initial complaint read. “I also shared this experience on a Facebook post for the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) page in 2021 on mothers’ day and was met with mostly praise and support except for Jasmine Sussex, a ABA counsellor at the time.”
Adrien “Jennifer” Buckley. Photo supplied by Buckley to The Daily Mail in 2022.
Buckley then went on to reveal that he was at least partially responsible for Sussex having been let go from her role with the ABA after he lodged a formal complaint against her.
“[Sussex] had made a post to the ABA, stating that I was a man pretending to be a woman. I was notified by other counsellors about her behaviour and was encouraged to put in a formal complaint which I did. She would later be terminated as a counsellor for the ABA. Since being let go, she has become increasing, hurtful, hateful, defamatory, vilifying, and discriminating towards transgender people both adult and children, and using public rallies and twitter as well as You Tube to promote her hate.”
In 2023, Sussex spoke to Reduxx about the ABA’s decision, and said, “I was sacked for. … ‘Engaging in Sectarian Controversy’ in breach of the ABA constitution,” she explains. “In other words, continuing to talk about the dangers of gender identity ideology for mothers and babies, including how men were forcing their way into the breastfeeding relationship by attempting to induce lactation.”
The ABA received a $20,000 grant from Rainbow Families in 2021 in order to develop a “trans-inclusive” booklet titled Breastfeeding, Chestfeeding and Human Milk Feeding, which the ABA currently sells on its website for $15. The booklet cautions that “transgender parents” may feel excluded from “women-only spaces,” such as mothers’ groups or breastfeeding support groups “if they do not pass as female.” It further advises that the “feeding experience” should be “affirming” for such individuals.
According to the 2023 complaint, Sussex first became aware of Buckley’s attempts to breastfeed his son after coming across an interview he participated in with The Daily Mail the previous year. Buckley was dissatisfied with how he felt he was represented in the article and was successful in having it pulled; however, archived versions of the article continued to be shared among women who criticized the practice as harmful to the infant.
Additionally, Buckley cited a social media post made by women’s rights group Standing for Women Queensland in May 2023. The post, which Sussex shared, published the archived version of The Daily Mail interview with Buckley in a critical light. In his complaint, Buckley stated that he had reported the post and Sussex’s comments to Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant.
EXCLUSIVE: Two women in Australia have received Twitter notices advising them that they violated Australian law after they posted criticism of a trans-identified male who induced lactation to "breastfeed" a baby.https://t.co/S1pce4Sctr
As previously reported by Reduxx, Sussex and Standing For Women Queensland (SFWQ) were both contacted by Twitter (now X) on May 16, 2023, with the platform informing the two accounts that specific content they had posted would be censored to Australian users in order to comply with Australian law.
Twitter sent two emails to each user, the first explaining that the platform had received “official correspondence” from a“government entity or law enforcement agency” which had claimed that their content had violated Australian law. A second email was sent shortly after to each user advising them that the content was going to be withheld in Australia.
Sussex had one tweet withheld, while SFWQ had five tweets censored in total. All of the content referred to Buckley and criticized him for his attempts to breastfeed his son.
Buckley further cited, as evidence of vilification, that Sussex had spoken with Reduxx after being censored by the Australian government. As Reduxx is not under the jurisdiction of the country’s eSafety Commissioner, Buckley is unable to have the article taken down.
“Jasmine and the page owner of Standing for Women Queensland spoke to an independent news site called Reduxx, claiming that they had been censored by the government, even though it was due to cyber abuse,” Buckley wrote in his initial complaint. “In the article, both talked as if I had done harm to my wife and child with Jasmine referring to me as a man and using male pronouns. Jasmine always calls me a man or male.”
As the case against Sussex progressed, her legal team called on five expert witnesses to provide testimony on the various issues presented by male chest secretions being fed to infants. Among them: a pediatrician, a leading midwife, and a bioethicist. The witnesses testified that secretions produced by males who induce lactation via the use of hormones appear to be of lesser quantity, and quality, than the breastmilk naturally produced by nursing mothers. Lawyers representing Sussex presented medical evidence to the court last week arguing “biological males” could only produce “sweat or pus” from their chest.
According to Stephanie Bastiaan of Women’s Forum Australia, doctors at the hospital where Buckley was receiving estrogen and domperidone were “reportedly warning Buckley that attempting to feed the newborn baby from Buckley’s chest could put the child at risk.” Ignoring the advice from medical professionals, “Buckley signed a waiver and pursued it within the first hour of the baby’s birth while Buckley’s wife was being treated for a haemorrhage.” However, he would later claim that he stopped trying to “chestfeed” the infant within days of leaving the hospital due to a short supply of “milk.”
Despite Sussex’s criticism of attempts to breastfeed by men constituting a risk to infants, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) determined that Buckley’s legal team did not have to provide medical evidence regarding the chemical makeup of the fluid given to his baby, and stated that it was not of relevance to whether Sussex had vilified him in her social media posts.
In a January 13 decision, QCAT member Peter Bridgman referred to Buckley with feminine pronouns, and stated, “Whether or not Ms Buckley received the medical treatment, the nature and effects of the treatment, the composition of various bodily fluids and the qualifications and experience of those working with her are not elements of the alleged vilification… [Buckley’s] recent medical treatment is simply not relevant to the matter.”
During a QCAT hearing on June 24 appealing that decision, Buckley’s legal representative Kathleen Foley said they would not be advancing a case on the makeup of the liquid produced by his chest, whether it qualified as “lactation,” and whether or not there was medical supervision involved in the process.
Despite Sussex being investigated for vilification over comments linking male “breastfeeding” to sexual fetishism, Buckley has on multiple occasions claimed that women become sexually aroused when nursing infants. He has since deleted the posts, though concerned women have saved and shared screenshots of his remarks.
In April last year, Buckley said on X, “Natal women do experience arousal while breastfeeding. It’s nothing to be ashamed off [sic] and normal. Doesn’t make them evil.”
For his part, Buckley has used social media to vilify his critics as “TERFs”, a slur frequently used by trans activists against detractors, and particularly against women who criticize gender identity ideology. The acronym stands for “trans exclusionary radical feminist” and has repeatedly been used to call for the censorship of, and violence against, women who refute the idea that men can become women. In June 2025, Buckley boasted that he “ended up making more breast milk” than his wife was able to produce, which he claimed “pisses off TERFs.”
Sussex told Reduxx that her primary motivation for questioning the legitimacy of male “chestfeeding” is the health and safety of babies.
“I’m very lucky to have compassionate, pro-bono lawyers and some wonderful world renowned expert witnesses to support the tribunal in understanding the marvelous maternal capacity to nourish our young. But being pursued through protracted litigation by a fixated activist is hard going on my well-being and resilience,” Sussex said. “I struggled to suppress spontaneous tears during the recent medical records appeal listening to my barrister explain my many concerns for the harms from male attempts to lactate not least the disruption of the loving bond between mother and her nursing baby.”
Fun Fact that pisses off TERFs. My wife made comment that I ended up making more breast milk than she did, and when I think about it, that was so true.
She added: “The attack on mothers by some men who claim to be women, or worse mothers, leaves me feeling physically grief stricken. It is the mothers alongside their babies in these broken relationships who compel me to stand firm and repeat again: No, men cannot breastfeed.”
The incident occurred on Sunday at the Marzili lido’s ‘Paradiesli’ area, a female-only nudist section at the riverside complex in Bern |Freibad Marzili – Google Maps
A European capital has apologised to a biological man who was removed from a women-only nude bathing section at a popular swimming spot.
On Sunday, the trans bather was turfed out of the “Paradiesli”, a female-only nudist section at the Marzili lido in Bern, Switzerland.
Fellow bathers questioned why the transgender swimmer was there, claiming she did not appear to be biologically female.
Other swimmers came to her defence as tensions escalated at the site.
The swimmer is said to have refused to leave the area.
Lido staff were unable to defuse the confrontation and had to call the police.
According to those supporting the trans woman, officers used “rough physical force” to push him to the ground before placing him in handcuffs.
The swimmer was detained at a police station for around two hours and later spent the night in hospital.
“The police operation was disproportionate,” witnesses claimed.
Officers gave a different account, saying the trans bather had actively resisted and ignored multiple requests to get out of the women-only zone.
Police also said bystanders had interfered with their operation.
An officer was allegedly assaulted by an unidentified person during the incident, the force revealed.
Authorities in Bern have now revealed the biological man was, in fact, entitled to use the facility under current regulations.
“All persons who identify and live as women have access,” the city said.
Officials said calling police was the wrong decision.
The city has committed to ensuring staff receive clearer guidance on the rules to avoid similar situations.
Switzerland introduced legislation in 2022 allowing anyone aged 16 or older to change their gender through self-declaration at a civil registry office.
Requirements vary by region, with some areas asking for medical certification of their transgender identity or evidence of hormone treatment.
In December, a Swiss musician was convicted of hate speech after making a gender-critical post on social media.
Emanuel Brunisholz wrote on Facebook : “If you excavate LGBTQI [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex] people after 200 years, you will only find men and women among the skeletons; everything else is a mental illness that was fostered by the curriculum!”
After refusing to pay a 500 Swiss francs (£460) fine for discrimination and incitement to hatred, he spent 10 days in prison.
Mr Brunisholz wrote on social media: “I am fully prepared to go to prison, if that is what it takes to expose the absurdity and authoritarianism of the trans ideology that has now taken root in Switzerland.”
Pope Leo XIV named Archbishop Richard Moth as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Northampton after its ordinary, Bishop David James Oakley, was charged with two counts of sexually assaulting a minor earlier this month.
On June 30, Pope Leo appointed Archbishop Moth, who currently serves as the archbishop of Westminster and the head of the Church in England and Wales, to temporarily lead the Diocese of Northampton as Bishop Oakley faces criminal charges. On June 24, Oakley, 70, was charged with two counts of rape of a girl under age 16 after being arrested last fall.
“I am humbled by the trust which His Holiness Pope Leo XIV has placed in me by assigning me this mission as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Northampton, in addition to my ministry as the Archbishop of Westminster,” Moth said in a statement after the appointment.
“I ask those whom I am called to serve to pray for me, that the Lord will continue to give me His spiritual guidance and wisdom needed to fulfil these duties,” the archbishop added.
Oakley is scheduled for a hearing at Cannock Magistrates’ Court on August 14.
Last week, the Catholic Diocese of Northampton confirmed the charges “after an investigation into non-recent safeguarding allegations,” calling the case “very distressing for all concerned.” However, the diocese said it could not comment further due to active legal proceedings.
Oakley is reportedly a “popular and energetic bishop who has been a strong supporter of synodality and has encouraged every parish to have a pastoral council,” perThe Tablet. He serves as an episcopal adviser for Catholic Charismatic Renewal in England and Wales.
In October, the Diocese of Northampton stated that the bishop had “taken a leave of absence for personal reasons.”
The next month, Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham said that “Such a withdrawal from public ministry does not constitute Bishop David’s removal from office as Bishop of Northampton, nor does it in any way imply guilt.”
Campaigners behind the ‘Save Europe Act’ say the European Commission is preparing to reject their European Citizens’ Initiative after receiving a letter warning that its proposals appear to violate the European Union’s fundamental rights and values.
In a video published on Tuesday, June 30th, the initiators of the act—Dutch conservative commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek and Austrian identitarian activist Martin Sellner—said they had received a letter from the European Commission, warning them that the Save Europe Act appears to be “manifestly contrary” to the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the EU’s “values.”
We’ve got news.
The European Union is threatening to reject the @SaveEuropeAct, claiming that preserving the ethnocultural continuity of Europe’s native peoples is racist and goes against “European values.”
The Commission also stated that the initiative’s proposed moratorium on “non-Western” immigration and its stated objective of protecting the “ethnic and cultural continuity” of Europe’s native peoples would amount to discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin.
According to Eva Vlaardingerbroek, the letter is “the ultimate proof that the European Union hates Europeans.”
They don’t want Europe to belong to the Europeans. They are saying that even claiming that there is such a thing as the ethnocultural identity or continuity of our peoples, that that in and of itself is racist. Our mere existence is racist to them.
The Act’s main demands are a halt to non-European immigration—both legal and illegal—and the creation of a Europe-wide remigration system. The charter also calls for the removal of “social welfare incentives and benefits that function as pull factors for migration” to reduce incentives for further migration, encourage remigration, and “lessen the burden on European taxpayers.”
The duo stressed that despite the Commission’s warning, they will not alter their campaign. Instead, they will “double down” and continue collecting signatures. As Martin Sellner said:
We don’t accept that unelected bureaucrats like Ursula von der Leyen decide whether Europeans have a right to exist in Europe. So our response is clear. We are not backing down. We are not taking one word back of the Save Europe Act.
At the time of writing, more than 440,000 people have signed the petition, and approximately 100,000 supporters have volunteered to take an active role in the campaign.
Under the rules governing European Citizens’ Initiatives, campaigns must collect at least one million validated signatures from citizens across a minimum of seven EU member states before the Commission is required to consider them. However, even if those thresholds are met, the Commission is not legally obliged to propose legislation.
Brussels’ reaction to the Save Europe Act is unsurprising, given that EU institutions have advocated for pro-migration policies in recent years and have punished member states that have introduced stricter border controls.
Nevertheless, Eva Vlaardingerbroek and Martin Sellner have announced a demonstration in Brussels on July 15, where they intend to deliver signatures collected in support of their campaign.
Dutch populist leader Geert Wilders has called for Moroccan soccer rioters to be deported — alongside their family members — after unrest broke out in the Hague following the North African nation’s victory over the Netherlands.
Following a nail-biter of a knockout round World Cup match in Mexico, in which Morocco advanced to the round of 16 after beating the Dutch national team on penalties, Moroccan migrants took to the streets of cities across the Netherlands.
However, while they began as joyful celebrations, the gatherings were ultimately marred by violence and clashes with police in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
According to the Dutch news outlet NU, at around 6:30 am local time, Moroccan supporters began pelting police officers with stones and fireworks in the Schilderswijk area of The Hague.
One man was even arrested at gunpoint after allegedly firing a pistol at officers, though this later turned out to be a BB gun.
In response, riot police were deployed to multiple areas of the city, and a water cannon was used to disperse a rowdy crowd.
In total, 13 arrests were made in the political centre of the country, while multiple arrests were made in other Dutch cities as well, including in Rotterdam.
Responding to the violent scenes, Dutch Party for Freedom leader Geert Wilders said of the Moroccan rioters: “Arrest them and preferably deport them to Morocco along with their family members.”
Moroccan fans have a growing reputation for violent outbursts in the Netherlands, including for the 2022 riots following their country’s victory over neighbouring Belgium in the World Cup. Dozens were arrested, and police were also forced to deploy tear gas and water cannons.
Earlier this year, riots also broke out in the Hague after the Moroccan national team lost in the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
Moroccans are one of the largest ethnic minority groups living in the Netherlands, with over 433,000 first or second-generation Moroccans living in the country, or around 2.4 per cent of the total population.
An African migrant from the country of Guinea has been arrested for stabbing and killing a 19-year-old man with a knife blow to the neck in the city of Fréjus. Authorities had planned to issue a ruling on his deportation order (QQTF) on the same day that the stabbing attack occurred.
The tragedy took place during the night from Saturday, June 27, to Sunday, June 28. Suffering from a very serious neck injury, the young man, originally from Fréjus, could not be revived by rescue workers.
Three other young men were also injured during the stabbing attack and taken to the hospital, according to French news outlet Nice Matin.
The perpetrator, a Guinean, had filed an appeal against his deportation order. This appeal was due to be examined on the same day as the stabbing spree by the local administrative court.
France has struggled to deport migrants who have been ordered to leave the country. For example, only 0.2 percent of Algerian migrants who are ordered to leave the country ever return home.
Shabir Ahmed is set to be freed | GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE
A grooming gang leader cannot be deported back to Pakistan despite being stripped of his British citizenship due to a loophole in legislation.
Shabir Ahmed is set to be released from prison on Thursday but is unable to be deported due to a provision in the act that exempts Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1973 from removal.
The 73-year-old was jailed back in 2012 for multiple rape and child sexual offences in Rochdale.
However, due to the policy in the Immigration Act 1971, Ahmed has lived in the UK long enough to qualify for the exemption.
Ahmed was identified as one of the nine men from Rochdale and Oldham who were found guilty of exploiting girls as young as 13 at two takeaway restaurants in the Heywood area of Rochdale.
He was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court in August 2012 of two rapes, aiding and abetting rape, sexual assault and trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
The jury was told that Ahmed had treated his victim as a “possession” using her for his own sexual gratification and that the girl had been abused on “an almost weekly basis”.
During his appearance in court, Judge Mushtaq Khokhar was forced to have Ahmed removed from the dock before passing sentence as he was persistently interrupted by the defendant.
He shouted: “It’s all lies. It’s all concocted by the police.”
It was previously revealed Ahmed was employed as a welfare rights officer by Oldham council.
A review found officers had failed to disclose to his employers there had been multiple concerns raised about him and his arrest for the sexual assault of children.
Paul Waugh, Labour MP for Rochdale, told The Telegraph: “This depraved paedophile should have been deported to Pakistan years ago.
“The people of Rochdale want him booted out of the country and it’s simply unacceptable that the government of Pakistan are refusing to take him back. If the Citizenship Act needs to be amended to do that, ministers should look at doing just that.”
A spokesman from the Home Office said: “Our thoughts are first and foremost with the victims of these appalling crimes.
“Ahmed’s horrific crimes were at the heart of the grooming gangs scandal that represents one of the darkest moments in our country’s history. The most vulnerable people were abused and exploited at the hands of evil child rapists and must face the full force of the law.
“On his release he will be on the sex offender’s register for life, ordered to stay away from his victims and banned from contacting any child or young person.
“As well as facing strict curfews and restriction zones, his every movement will be tracked, forced to wear an electronic tag. Should he breach his conditions, he will be immediately locked up.”
London, Oldham, Bradford and Keighley are to be the first towns and cities investigated by the grooming gangs inquiry.
The scandal-hit probe is looking at how grooming gangs operated in England and Wales and the actions of police, councils, health services, social care services and schools.
The announcement confirmed the capital and parts of West Yorkshire will join Oldham, in Greater Manchester, in being the first areas to face so-called local investigations, where serious failures have been identified in the response to child sexual exploitation by grooming gangs.
The inquiry said it will look “in detail at what happened in a specific place, including how children were identified and protected, how organisations responded, how victims were treated, and what needs to change”.
The Mayor of London welcomed the grooming gangs inquiry’s focus on London, saying “marking your own homework is not good enough”.
Sir Sadiq Khan said it was important “no stone is left unturned” as the inquiry sets about its work.
The Labour mayor previously came under fire for suggesting there was no indication of rape gangs operating in the capital and that the issue in London was different from other areas.
Sir Sadiq said: “It’s really important that we have the victims and survivors at the fore of our minds.”
The moment the mass shooting suspect was taken into custody in Stade.
A gunman has killed six people at a child welfare centre in northern Germany, in an attack police have linked to a custody dispute over his three-month-old daughter.
The shooting took place on June 29 at a facility in Stade, a town of about 50,000 people around 50 kilometres west of Hamburg.
Four women and two men, all of them child welfare workers, were killed. Five died at the scene and a sixth died later in hospital.
The 45-year-old suspect had an appointment to discuss custody arrangements for his daughter, who was in the building with her mother at the time.
Neither the child nor the mother was hurt, said Kathrin Schuol, the police chief in nearby Lüneburg who is leading the investigation. She said the victims had been shot “in a brutal manner”.
Police said the man was born in Germany, had Turkish roots and lived near Hanover. He was known to officers for making threats in the past but had no record of violence.
The suspect did not hold a firearms licence and it remained unclear how he had obtained the weapon.
He tried to flee in a car driven by a woman described as a member of his family circle, but was stopped after a short chase. Police opened fire on the vehicle and arrested both occupants.
Two other people were being held on suspicion of involvement, though police did not give details.
The girl’s mother told officers she was no longer in a relationship with the suspect, and the child was taken into care.
Lower Saxony’s interior minister Daniela Behrens described the killings as “extremely cold-blooded” and said they appeared to stem from a custody dispute.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the news “deeply shocking”, while President Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered his condolences over an “appalling act of violence”.
Germany has some of Europe’s strictest gun laws, requiring anyone under 25 to pass a psychiatric test before applying for a licence. Mass shootings remain rare though not unknown.
In March 2023 a former Jehovah’s Witness shot dead six people at a congregation in Hamburg before killing himself. In February 2020 a right-wing extremist killed nine people in the city of Hanau.
At least five people were shot and killed in a suburb of Hamburg on Monday despite Germany’s stringent gun controls, which include gun licensing, registration, confiscatory actions, and other controls.
Breitbart News reported the shooting and pointed out that NTV indicated it took place near a youth centre.
Two people have been arrested in connection with the incident.
Germany is heavily gun controlled and Breitbart News noted the stringency of the controls following the June 22, 2016, Munich shooting in which nine were killed.
At that time, the University of Sydney described Germany’s gun laws as “restrictive,” noting that even the acquisition of a semiautomatic pistol required “special authorization.” Gaining such authorization began with passing “a background check which considered criminal, mental health, and additional records.” But that was only the beginning. As The New York Times summarized, the process of acquiring the gun would occur “over the course of several months” and would include securing “a certificate that proves you know how to handle both the weapon and its ammunition.”
Moreover, NYT pointed that would-be gun owner would also have show he “[could] store it safely, in a place to which only…[the owner would] have access.”
The gun controls which were in force in 2016 were part of the Weapons Act (2002, 2013) and those controls have been increased over the years.
For instance, Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior noted that a new weapons law, which took effect on October 31, 2024, “makes it possible to ban the carrying of knives, for example in areas such as train stations or at public events, and it prohibits flick knives in all but a few cases.”
The new law also authorized “weapons authorities to confiscate weapons and ammunition temporarily while proceedings to withdraw and revoke weapons licenses are still under way.”
Additionally, whereas the Weapons Act (2013) required “all the important information on weapons and their owners…[to be] centrally recorded and stored,” an amendment was later used to expand the register “to include additional information, providing a fuller picture: for example, in addition to providing information on the legal private possession of firearms requiring a license, the register makes it possible to track the entire life cycle of a weapon by including information on manufacturers and dealers.”
Despite all these controls, five people were shot and killed Monday in a suburb of Hamburg.
