Tz.de and Merkur.de write about increased activity of the so called beggars mafia in downtown Munich, especially close to the Christmas markets. A businessman who works at the Theatinerstrasse has documented meeting 8 beggars with dogs within a 400 meter radius and within 20 minutes!

He says: ”They are mostly from Eastern Europe. They meet in the morning and then spread out in all directions. It can’t be that they can break all the rules and do whatever they want.” The man has contacted authorities and has even written a letter to Mayor Dieter Reiter. He hasn’t received any response so far and thinks

Since August 2014, there is a beggar’s ban in some areas in the centre of Munich. Police have admitted that they have noticed increased activity of the organised beggars and the City will tighten controls and write more tickets, but police are pointing out that their main focus during the festive season will continue to be the security of the visitors at the numerous Christmas markets of the city.

You can read more about beggars in Munich in the article “Beggars not wanted: a chronology of the exclusion of ‘poverty immigrants’ in Munich” by Eva-Maria Richter, a cultural anthropologist based in Munich.