Pegida can be tamed

The backlash against multiculturalism in Europe is a bigger threat to France than Germany, despite weekly marches against ‘Islamization’ in Dresden and other cities

The World Today
2 minute READ

Germany is now the second most attractive destination for migrants worldwide, after the United States, according to figures issued last year by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The image produced by these statistics of a Germany at ease with being a multicultural society is now cracking. Rallies by the Pegida movement demanding a tightening of German immigration policies are attended by up to 25,000 protesters in Dresden each week, while smaller chapters exist in Bamberg, Bonn and Leipzig.

To judge by their slogans, these protesters are marching against a multicultural society. This might suggest that Germany will go the way of France, where an anti-immigrant party, the National Front, is now a fixture of the political landscape. But a comparison between the two countries is misleading.

Subscribe to read all issues

Articles from the current issue are free to read by all, the archive is exclusive to magazine subscribers and our members. Subscribe or become a member to view articles from the archive.