Germany: Thousands of Protesters in Berlin Against Far Right · Global Voices

Thousands of protesters flooded Sunday (02.02.2025) to denounce the approach between the right and the far right, three weeks before the parliamentary elections in . The police in Berlin spoke of at least 20,000 protesters, but “this number can be significantly increased because we observe a influx of people arriving from all directions,” said a police spokesman in Germany’s capital. MISCELLANEOUS “Shame on you CDU” (Shame on you CDU) and “Merz hone Herz” (Aheart Merz) write hundreds of signs held by protesters, referring to the decision made twice this week by conservative Christian Democrats of Friedrich Mertz’s CDU party to rely on the votes of the far-right party Alternative to Germany (AfD) to try to pass texts from parliament to restrict immigration. This de facto alliance broke a political taboo in the country, where since World War II traditional parties refused any cooperation nationally with the far right. Friedrich Murch appealed to the protesters asking them to be peaceful. ADVERSE “I call on all those who are now protesting to do so peacefully,” Murch said. Every citizen has the right to protest, he stressed. “However, this does not include violence, whether against people or against property,” he added. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse “Of course we are talking with peaceful protesters. We’re talking to political opponents. We have discussions in the area where we should, i.e. in the plenary of German Bundestag,” Murch said. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse About 500 police officers have been mobilized for the safety of the concentration held near the seat of the German parliament.