 "Munich sees over 200,000 protesters against far-right ahead of German election")
Over 200,000 protesters gathered in Munich, Germany on Saturday to protest far-right extremism ahead of the nation’s general election. The far-right, anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD), currently polling in second place has sparked widespread demonstrations across the country as voters prepare to head to the polls on February 23.
The Munich rally followed similar protests, including one in Berlin last weekend that drew an estimated 160,000 people. Those protests were triggered by recent attempts by Germany’s conservative parties to align with the AfD ahead of the contentious elections.
The protest at Munich’s Theresienwiese — where Oktoberfest takes place each year — brought a significantly larger crowd than expected, according to the German dpa news agency.
Organisers estimated attendance could have reached 320,000, with many participants holding signs condemning the AfD and displaying slogans such as, “Racism and hatred is not an alternative.”
The demonstration received support from activist groups, the Munich Film Festival, churches, and local soccer clubs FC Bayern and TSV 1860, among others. Police reported that the event remained peaceful.
Protesters have also recently targeted Friedrich Merz, the center-right leader and front-runner in the upcoming election, and his Christian Democrats. This follows their submission of proposals to parliament last month for stricter migration rules, which garnered backing from the AfD.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsGermany has long had an unwritten rule against working with the far right, dating back to the aftermath of the horrors wrought by the Nazis in World War II.
But protesters say the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the frontrunner for the February 23 vote, breached that so-called “firewall” by seeking the AfD’s support in parliament for an anti-immigration bill.
Organisers, who put the turnout at 320,000, said the Munich march aimed to send a “strong signal in favour of diversity, human dignity, cohesion and democracy”.
Protesters on Munich’s famed Theresienwiese, a sprawling esplanade in the city centre, carried placards attacking CDU leader Friedrich Merz, bearing messages such as “Shame on you!”
Another protest in the northern city of Hanover drew 24,000 people, according to police.
The CDU has ruled out forming a government with the AfD, which is polling in second place ahead of the elections.
The 12-year-old AfD entered the national parliament in 2017, benefiting from then-Chancellor Angela Merkel ’s decision two years earlier to allow large numbers of migrants into the country.
With inputs from agencies
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