German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke of "an explosion of violence" during a session of the Bundestag , Germany's lower house of parliament, in March, where he was asked about violence against women . He said there was a need to talk about the causes of this, adding that "a significant portion of this violence comes from immigrant groups." Merz continues to link violence and criminality with immigration . In October 2025, he said that his government had reduced the number of people seeking