According to a report on the German News TV channel website, despite cloudy and rainy days, thousands of people demonstrated against the right wing in many German cities on the 25th. In Cologne, police estimated that about 40,000 people attended the afternoon event. Organizers initially registered 5,000 participants, but later said "more than 70,000 people took to the streets of Cologne to fight for democracy."
A police spokesman said that despite the large number of people, everything was calm.
Tens of thousands of people marched in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, taking aim at the increasingly powerful AfD, other far-right European parties, the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump and the influence of tech billionaire Musk. Police put the number of participants at 30,000, while organizers put the number at 100,000.
According to a Reuters report, American billionaire Musk unexpectedly "appeared" at the election campaign of the AfD on the 25th, making public remarks in support of this far-right party for the second time in just a few weeks.
According to reports, at the AfD rally in the German city of Halle, Musk addressed about 4,500 people at the event via live video broadcast and talked about protecting German culture and the German people.
According to a report by Agence France-Presse on January 25, at this rally, Musk called on supporters of the AfD to "be proud of being German". "It's okay to be proud of being German. Fight for Germany's bright future," he declared.
He reiterated his support for the AfD, saying the party embodies "Germany's best hopes". His speech won warm applause from the audience.
In his speech on the 25th, Musk praised the "German nation" that dates back "thousands of years ago". He also said he had read that Roman Emperor Julius Caesar had been "impressed" with the fighting abilities of the Germanic tribes.
At the end of his speech, he resumed his usual diatribe against the government led by current German Chancellor Scholz, saying that the government "suppresses freedom of speech."
Musk said the AfD must "fight, fight, fight," and in particular fight "for more self-determination for Germany and European countries, not more self-determination for Brussels."
The AfD leader Alice Weidel warmly thanked Musk. "We wish you, President Trump and Vice President Vance the best in making America great again," she said.
