Europe

A German police officer is in critical condition in Bavaria after being shot by a member of the far-Right “Reich Citizens” movement. The gunman lay in wait for police who had come to seize his private weapon collection and opened fire without warning. The group refuses to accept the fall of the pre-war German Empire and do not recognise the authority of the modern German state. Its members are often dismissed as harmless eccentrics who issue their own driving licences in the name of the “German Reich”, and try to avoid paying tax. But yesterday’s incident was far more serious and has led to calls for political action against the movement.