Thousands at demonstrations against right-wing extremism and against the federal government

Around 20,000 people took to the streets in Munich, Bamberg and Regensburg against right-wing extremism. After the AfD election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, calls for a ban became louder.

There were also right-wing demos in Munich and Bamberg that were directed against the federal government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and called for Merz's resignation. According to the police, almost 2,000 people took part in these demonstrations. The rallies went largely smoothly.

Test demo with 12,000 people

According to the police, around 12,000 people took part in a so-called test demo in the Victory Gate area in Munich - four times as many as originally registered. The nationwide campaign demands that the parties classified by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as suspected right-wing extremists or confirmed right-wing extremists should be examined by the Federal Constitutional Court.

At the same time, German flags were flying at Königsplatz. There, around 350 demonstrators demanded: “This government has to go.” The event was originally registered for up to 1,000 participants. According to police, around 100 counter-demonstrators gathered in the immediate vicinity.

Sit-in blockade and now also “Grandmas against Peace”

German flags could also be seen in Bamberg: According to the police, around 1,500 people marched through the city with drums and whistles during a demonstration by the “Unity for Germany - Project M1llion” initiative, according to the police. “Merz has to go,” it said on one banner, while another read “Grandmas against peace.” The group is calling, among other things, for new elections, a migration stop and the resignation of the federal government.

Around 4,000 people took part in a counter-demonstration. Various organizations, including “Grandmas Against the Right”, had called for this. “There is no room for right-wing agitation here” and “Brown sauce only for dumplings” were the slogans here.

A police spokesman reported that there were only brief delays in the “Project M1llion” demo. 14 people tried to stop the march with a sit-in. Some would have had to be carried away before the “Project M1llion” demonstrators could march on.

In Regensburg, around 3,500 people took to the streets against the right, as the police announced. The Initiative Against the Right (IgR) called for this in view of the AfD election success in Saxony-Anhalt. They want to send a clear signal: “We continue to stand together against inhumane positions, alongside those affected by the extreme right in Saxony-Anhalt and for an open, solidarity-based Regensburg,” explained the IgR. “A vote for the AfD improves nothing for people, neither for their voters, and it directly endangers minorities who are first targeted by their politics.”