Social Tensions over Migration Continue to Rise in European Countries Hosting Migrants
A dispute in Salzburg’s provincial hospitals has sparked public outrage after a Muslim man demanded that only female doctors be allowed to treat his wife. When the hospital was unable to meet this request, he lodged a formal complaint with the patients’ rights ombudsman.
A case in Salzburg has ignited a heated debate in hospitals regarding special religious demands: a Muslim man with an immigrant background insisted that only female doctors treat his wife in the provincial hospitals of Salzburg (SALK). In a complaint submitted to the patients’ rights ombudsman, he accused the institution of discrimination and disrespect for failing to comply with his request.
According to the Krone newspaper, the man residing in Salzburg is “demanding written confirmation that the request for treatment exclusively by female professionals is legally permissible and mandatory”.
Hospital responds: choice of doctor not possible
The hospital has already responded to the letter, firmly rejecting the accusations:
“Medical and nursing care is provided by male and/or female staff in accordance with duty rosters. Free choice of doctor is neither stipulated nor possible in a public hospital.”
The institution also emphasised:
“The legal bases referred to by the man will in no way entitle him to discriminate against our staff on the basis of gender!”
Vienna’s patients’ rights ombudsman, Gerhard Jelinek, also stated unequivocally: there is no legal basis for such a request.
Social coexistence causes growing number of problems
A recently published report has also gauged public opinion on social coexistence with immigrants.
The findings show that since 2022, criticism towards those with a migrant background has grown significantly among people born in Austria: while back then only 25.1 percent rated coexistence as “rather bad/very bad”, by 2025 this figure had risen to 46.2 percent, with only 20.9 percent of people now assessing social coexistence as “very good/rather good”.
Immigrants themselves, however, have a significantly more positive view of coexistence between Austrians and migrants. Some 57.9 percent describe it as “very good” or “rather good”, while only 13.7 percent view it as “rather bad/very bad”.
Tensions over Muslim immigration rise in many European countries
While left-wing politicians continue to make room for migrants, more and more people feel that European identity is under threat.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France’s far-left Unsubmissive France party (LFI), envisions transforming France into a “universal nation”.
“We see France not as a language, since 29 nations share it; nor as a religion, since six religions exist in our country (the first being Christianity, the second Islam); nor as any other so-called national characteristic,”
– Mr. Melenchon said — although many disagree with his views.
“Europe has committed itself to cultural relativism, no longer defends its values, and appears no longer willing to resist mass migration, primarily from Islamic regions. The face of our continent — at least in the West — is changing drastically. It is becoming increasingly clear: free societies and open borders are incompatible,” – wrote German journalist Claudio Casula in an opinion piece published on the German Nius news site.
“When we knowingly import people steeped in such a culture, we are right to question their ability to integrate into and respect French customs — without even mentioning the ideological toxicity they bring: the humiliation of women and the symbol of a distinctly castrating and opaque patriarchy. Yet systemic leftist politics want us to believe that they are just like us. One only needs to step outside and look at the supermarkets or simply certain neighbourhoods in our cities to realise that NONE of this is true,”
– wrote a French woman, commenting on a video posted on X.
Quand on sait qu’on a importé des personnes imprégnées d’une telle culture 🇩🇿 , on peut légitimement s’interroger sur leur capacité á s’intégrer et á respecter les mœurs de la France, sans parler de la toxicité idéologique véhiculé par ce drap intégral; symbole de l’humiliation… pic.twitter.com/AFYToACGpN
— Quandleslanguessedélient (@Anne_deProvence) June 15, 2025