More than 250.000 people gathered in Munich today for a new mass demonstration against the far-right, police in the Bavarian capital announced a new estimate of the number of citizens gathered. Police initially said the number was 100.000, then 200.000 and at the end of the protest 250.000, while organizers of the Munich rally put the number of demonstrators at around 320.000.
Two weeks before the parliamentary elections, demonstrators gathered under the slogan "Democracy needs you" are opposing any cooperation with the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
The organizers of today's "Munich is Colorful" demonstration want to send a "strong signal in favor of diversity, human dignity, cohesion and democracy" ahead of the elections.
"Grandmothers Against the Far Right," a movement created in 2018 and inspired by a similar initiative in Austria, called for demonstrations today in several German cities, including Hanover, where, according to police data, 24.000 people protested.
Last week, more than 160.000 people protested against the far right in Berlin.
The protests were sparked last week after conservative chancellor candidate and poll favorite Friedrich Merz began to close in on the AfD, as he relied on their support in parliament to pass a non-binding proposal to block all undocumented foreigners, including asylum seekers, at the border.
Traditional parties have so far refused any cooperation at the national level with the extreme right in the name of the so-called "protective wall" erected against this nationalist and anti-immigrant formation.
The conservatives, who met at a congress earlier this week, made it clear that they rule out any government with the AfD, which is second in the polls, right behind them.
Early parliamentary elections are scheduled for February 23rd.
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