More Than 100,000 March Against the Far Right in Berlin

Organizers of a rally in Berlin had expected about 40,000 to join their protest against xenophobia and the growing influence of the far right in German politics, but more than 100,000 turned out. It was a strong statement of German support for human rights and Angela Merkel's decision three years ago to provide asylum to refugees from Syria and Iraq.

BBC: "Rights groups organised the rally, as marchers held placards reading "Indivisible" and "United against racism".

And, the show of support comes at a pivotal time as Germany is about to have regional elections in Bavaria where the far right party Alternative for Germany [AfD] is hoping to make gains. Immigration levels have fallen sharply since 2015, but that hasn't stopped the AfD from using the the issue to score political points against Merkel's government.

The demonstrators took to the streets to signal that the AfD doesn't speak for the majority of Germans.

BBC: "One woman said: "There are so many people who believe they can abuse human rights and questions of equality and so on, and it's time to say no, there are other people who just want to be open and open-minded."

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