“Foreigners out” song chanted at police event in Saxony-Anhalt
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Attendees at an event hosted by a German police union have reported that guests took part in chanting the infamous “Ausländer raus” (“foreigners out”) version of Gigi D’Agostino’s L’amour toujours.
Attendees at German police union event chanted racist song, say witnesses
According to witnesses who attended a German police union event in Ascherleben, Saxony-Anhalt, on September 18, multiple attendees chanted “Ausländer raus” (“foreigners out”) to the tune of Gigi D’Agostino’s L’amour toujours.
The racist remix of L’amour toujours has been co-opted by far-right groups in recent years. In February 2024, civil service trainees in Hesse were accused of chanting the song at a disco and in May 2024, a large group of partygoers were filmed singing the song in a bar on the wealthy island of Sylt. Another incident occurred at a beer festival in Bavaria shortly after.
According to Deutschlandfunk, the police college where the event was held submitted a complaint to the police after the recent incident. Police at the Central Criminal Office in Magdeburg have analysed a video of the event and are investigating further, but have yet to identify which attendees took part in the chant.
The incident has reignited criticism that the complaints against police officers in Germany are investigated by police officers, meaning investigations are impossible to carry out objectively. Critics call for an independent investigation body.
Officers who endanger democratic values should be sacked, says von Angern
In response to the most recent “Ausländer raus” incident, Left Party representative in Saxony-Anhalt Eva von Angern said in a press release that “Calls such as 'Ausländer raus' should be punished”.
Von Angern added that police officers who are proven to have demonstrated far-right behaviour should be removed from public service. “We need every police officer to have a foundational understanding of democracy, not right-wing hatred.”
“An understanding of democracy and tolerance must be given greater importance in the process of training police officers,” von Angern concluded.