Germany in January 2026: the most important developments in society
In Germany in January 2026, the most widely reported social story was the interception of climate activists on 22 January before a paint protest at the plane of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. A German court ruled in late January that the government must upgrade its national climate action plan to meet emissions targets.
Consumer and migration issues followed. The consumer group Foodwatch filed a complaint with a Paris court over French authorities' handling of baby milk recalls, and Nestlé rejected accusations about its infant formula as unfounded. The EU was set to put a new asylum policy into effect, with changes expected in how refugees are processed and distributed within Germany, while the AfD called for a dedicated deportation police force modelled on the US agency ICE. Comic artists in Germany protested against alleged violence by officers of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.
Other items included a court ruling that real estate agents can be held liable for housing discrimination if they carry out a landlord's discriminatory instructions, the dairy entrepreneur Theo Müller's denial that he financially supports the AfD, and a German Jewish leader's statement that Jews will leave if the AfD comes to power. Emergency plans were prepared for a public transport strike scheduled for a Monday at the end of the month.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
Click a day in the chart above for that day's brief.