More than 200,000 people in Munich took part in a demonstration against the far-right parties in Germany, DPA reported, citing law enforcement data.
Activists held up posters with the inscription: “Racism and hatred are not an alternative“. Some participants called for the right-wing party "Alternative for Germany" (AdG) to be banned. But the demonstration was peaceful.
There were also protests in other cities in Germany. In many cities in the federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse, around 25,000 people took part in demonstrations against the far-right. According to police, 13,000 people took to the streets in the city of Giessen in the afternoon. By noon, 8,000 people had gathered in Darmstadt. In Mainz, police reported 4,000 participants.
Tens of thousands of people took part in rallies and protests in Bremen and Lower Saxony. According to law enforcement officials, about 24,000 people took to the streets in the center of Hanover. A police spokesman said there were other protests by left-wing groups in the capital of Lower Saxony. There was an attempt to prevent people from visiting the election booths of the "Alternative for Germany". A large demonstration was also held in Nuremberg, where about 20,000 people took to the streets. Almost 25,000 people also took part in a protest in Hamburg.
On February 2, mass demonstrations were held in Berlin and other cities in Germany against the proposals of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its leader Friedrich Merz to tighten migration policy and cooperate with the "Alternative for Germany". In Berlin, according to police data, about 160,000 people participated in the protest. Similar demonstrations were also held in Regensburg, Ulm, Kiel, Potsdam and Braunschweig.
On January 29, the Bundestag adopted one of the resolutions of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group to tighten migration policy, supported by the "Alternative for Germany" party. The bloc prepared two resolutions. One was a five-point plan to ensure long-term border controls and "progressive deportation of persons who must leave the country". It was approved by 348 deputies, 345 voted against, and 10 abstained. The document is of a recommendatory nature. The second resolution, which was rejected, would have expanded the powers of law enforcement agencies.
On January 31, the German parliament rejected the CDU/CSU bill to tighten migration policy, which, if approved, would have been mandatory.