Thousands demonstrate in Baden-Württemberg against AfD-backed vote

Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.Generate Key Takeaways

Several thousand people demonstrated on Saturday in various cities in the south-western German state of Baden-Württemberg against a vote in parliament put forth by the conservative party that was backed by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Organizers had expected 500 people to turn out but 5,000 people were on the streets in the city of Karlsruhe, the city and police reported. The demonstration was initially peaceful, the police said.

In nearby Mannheim, people took to the streets under the slogan "We are the firewall," referring to the much discussed "firewall" that Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader and chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz said he would not break by cooperating with the AfD.

Many in Germany see that promise as broken after the CDU relied on the AfD to pass a motion demanding stricter migration policy in the lower house of parliament this week for the first time in the far-right party's history.

Organizers in Mannheim had expected around 2,000 participants. Police said several thousand showed up but initially could not give any specific figures.