Overview
- In Hamburg, police estimated about 2,600 participants at Saturday’s march while organizers claimed roughly 5,000, with additional demonstrations reported in Magdeburg, Hildesheim and Arnsberg.
- On Friday, roughly 4,000 people rallied in Bielefeld under the slogan “We are the city’s appearance,” where SPD deputy parliamentary leader Wiebke Esdar appeared in the front ranks.
- Police said events have been peaceful so far, though investigators are probing graffiti sprayed overnight on a CDU district office in Bonn referencing the “city appearance” phrase.
- Merz said the migration issue remains visible in the “appearance of cities” and, when pressed to clarify, told questioners to ask their daughters, remarks widely criticized as racist and discriminatory.
- A Bild/INSA poll found 66% dissatisfied with the Merz government and only 26% satisfied with the chancellor’s performance.