Thousands of people protested in the eastern German city of Leipzig on Thursday after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) helped to pass a controversial motion in the German parliament demanding hard-line migration reforms.
Police said some 5,000 demonstrators gathered, calling for politicians to “defend the right to asylum” and “rebuild the firewall,” a term referring to mainstream parties’ long-established refusal to work with the AfD.
Participants brought cardboard boxes to symbolically erect a “firewall” against the far right.
Hundreds also protested in the nearby city of Dresden, the capital of the state of Saxony, where conservative leader Friedrich Merz held a campaign meeting.
The historic vote on Wednesday saw the AfD – which is polling in second place nationwide on more than 20% – involved in a parliamentary majority for the first time in its history.
Another bill to reform Germany’s migration laws is set to be introduced in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, by the conservative CDU/CSU alliance on Friday. The AfD has signalled it will support the measure.
Germany’s election campaign has been dominated by the issue of illegal migration since an attack in the southern city of Aschaffenburg last week, in which an Afghan national is the main suspect.
Protests are also expected Thursday evening outside the party headquarters of the CDU in Berlin.
Tens of thousands of people protested at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin last week, with further demonstrations planned in the coming days.
