Tens of thousands march across Germany to protest far-right party AfD
Protesters in about 20 cities, including Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, demand the banning of the Alternative for Germany.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Germany to protest against the Alternative for Germany (AfD) after the far-right party won a state election by a landslide.
About 150,000 demonstrators turned out in roughly 20 cities on Saturday, including Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, in rallies organised by Pruef, a campaign group pushing for a ban on the AfD.
“A broad cross-section of civil society is taking to the streets to prevent the enemies of the constitution … from gaining government power,” said Christoph Bautz, head of Campact, another campaign group involved in the protests, which put turnouts at about 25,000 in Hamburg and 12,000 in Munich.
The AfD, known for its anti-immigration stance and friendly posture towards Russia, fell just short of an outright majority and is now in talks with other parties to try to form a government, which would make it the first far-right party to lead a German state since the Nazi era ended in 1945.