Overview
- Police mobilized roughly 1,300–1,400 officers on Saturday to manage two major marches in central Berlin and the concurrent Festival of Lights.
- The anti‑government ProjektM1llion march had 10,000 people registered but drew about 2,600 according to police and proceeded largely without major incidents.
- A pro‑Palestine United4Palestine rally was relocated at short notice for security reasons, attracted several thousand participants by police counts, and saw at least one speaker detained for identity checks.
- Linke politician Vanessa Emde publicly urged supporters to join the pro‑Palestine demonstration, intensifying debate over whether party members who back such protests should be excluded from the planned Linke parliamentary group.
- Authorities pointed to a tense backdrop that includes large, sometimes violent pro‑Palestine protests in October 2025 and the three‑year anniversary of the 7 October 2023 attacks, factors that shaped police caution and political sensitivity.