'Germans out': Anti-foreigner graffiti stirs tensions in Mallorca

Anti-foreigner graffiti and stickers have appeared on several businesses and vehicles in the southern Santanyí area of Mallorca, calling them to leave the area and telling foreigner property buyers to "go to hell".

The messages, written in German, were directed at Santanyí's large German population, and though somewhat of an isolated incident the events reflect growing animosity towards tourism and wealthy foreign residents on the island.

Phrases such as ‘Germans out’ were spray-painted in red on shop windows, doors and cars with foreign number plates, especially German registrations. This comes amid growing anti-tourism sentiment in Spain. Protests were held across the country last year and a second wave of protests has already started this summer.

Local media reports that the perpetrators wrote the German word “Raus” (Out) and stickers with the same messages were also placed on vehicles and shop fronts run by foreign residents.

Other spray-painted messages included: “Deutsche raus” (Germans out) and “Ausländische Käufer fahrt zur Hölle” (‘Foreign buyers, go to hell’) presumably in reference to foreigners buying property in the town.

READ ALSO: IN PICS - Cities in Spain kick off second summer of overtourism protests

Protestors argue that overtourism is ruining residential property markets, pricing local people out of their own neighbourhoods and killing local culture and identity. Critics suggest that tourism forms a huge part of the Spanish economy and that some of the anti-tourism protests have veered into anti-foreigner and even xenophobic rhetoric.

One demonstration in Barcelona last summer gained international headlines when protests sprayed tourists sitting on terraces with water pistols.

Municipal sources told the Diario de Mallorca that local police first detected the graffiti in the early hours of Friday morning. A search was carried out in the area to try to locate the culprits, without success, before the Guardia Civil was informed.

The local council has strongly condemned the graffiti and insists that “they do not represent the feelings of the majority of the public, nor is it believed that those responsible are residents of the municipality.”

One of those affected was reportedly German artist Frank Krüger, who told the German-language Mallorca Zeitung newspaper that “this was a planned and coordinated action, not the work of a single person.”

“To be honest, it scares me,” Krüger added, saying that he could understand the concerns of many local residents about the island's tourism model, but insisted that “this has gone too far.”

READ ALSO: Have Spain's anti-tourism protests turned nasty?

Interestingly, on a political level only the far-right Vox party, often more sceptical of high numbers of foreigners in the country, have come out to criticise the graffiti and defend tourism.

Jorge Pérez, Vox councillor in Santanyí, said in a press statement that “in recent days, our municipality has been the scene of deeply worrying events, as offensive graffiti and stickers with anti-German messages have appeared on vehicles and businesses, affecting foreign residents who have been contributing positively to our community for years. At Vox, we defend all those who pay taxes on our islands, respect our rules and form an active part of the social fabric of Santanyí.”

“Under the excuse of criticising the tourism model, a campaign of targeting and harassment has been launched against citizens who are fully integrated, in a clear display of ideological intolerance and political sectarianism,” he added.

Though the specific anti-German graffiti seems like a new development, residents in Mallorca had previously taken direct action against foreign property owners oft he island by defacing an iconic Osborne bull billboard with a message reading “Rich Foreign Property Buyers Go to Hell” earlier in the year.

READ ALSO: 'Go to hell' - Osborne bull graffiti slams Spain's foreign property buyers

In April, the slogan ‘Inländer raus! Palma den Deutschen' (Locals out! Palma for the Germans) appeared on the door of a house on the island. It remains unclear who the perpetrator was and if the message was meant ironically or in earnest.

According to the latest data from Spain's national stats body, INE, almost 19,000 Germans are registered as living on the Balearic Islands, with many more thousands likely to be living their part of the year.

Aparecen pintadas contra comercios y vehículos de residentes extranjeros en Santanyí https://t.co/ljIqxBocAA

— Diario de Mallorca (@diariomallorca) July 6, 2025