Angry rallies in Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Leipzig and Munich accuse Friedrich Merz of cooperating with AfD

Tens of thousands of people marched in Germany on Sunday to protest against the decision by the centre-right leader – and frontrunner in a looming election – to send to parliament proposals for tough migration rules that received the backing of a far-right party.

Angry protesters in Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Leipzig and Munich said that Friedrich Merz and his Christian Democrats (CDU) broke Germany’s unwritten post-Nazi promise by all democratic parties to never pass any rule or resolution in parliament with the support of far-right, nationalist parties such as Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).