Tens of thousands protest across Germany against far-right AfD

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated across Germany against right-wing extremism and the AfD, with major rallies in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Berlin, and Munich, prompted by the AfD's recent election win in Saxony-Anhalt and growing calls for a party ban. In Düsseldorf, around 20,000 people joined a protest under the motto "No step back! Against the AfD and right-wing hate speech." Hamburg saw roughly 25,000 participants, while Berlin police reported 18,000 attendees and organizers claimed 32,000. Smaller rallies occurred in Leipzig, Magdeburg, Mainz, and Saarbrücken. The protests followed the AfD's near-44 percent result in Saxony-Anhalt's state election, where it missed an absolute majority. The "PRÜF" initiative, which organizes monthly demonstrations, demands constitutional review of parties classified as extremist. NRW's premier Hendrik Wüst proposed a federal-state working group to examine a ban, though legal experts note risks.