Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Germany this week to protest Chancellor Friedrich Merz's recent remarks on migration, which many critics have described as racist and divisive.

Speaking at a press conference around illegal migration in Potsdam last week, Merz said he saw a problem "with the urban cityscape". When pressed for clarification, he added: "Ask your daughters what I might have meant".

The remarks sparked widespread outrage and demonstrations from Berlin to Hamburg, Magdeburg, Leverkusen, Nuremberg, and Herne. In Berlin alone, some 7,500 people gathered in front of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) headquarters on Tuesday, according to police.

Renowned climate activist Luisa Neubauer told the crowd she was "used to protecting the ecological climate from Friedrich Merz and [that she] will also protect the social climate from him." She added that while she welcomed a serious debate on security, "we as daughters refuse to be used as an excuse and justification".

The controversy comes amid Germany's broader rightward shift, as the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), now officially classified as extremist, continues to gain ground, polling around 26 percent.

Coalition partner and German Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil criticised Merz's tone: "Politics should build bridges, not divide society with language. And no one's appearance should determine whether they belong in a city’s image."