Sympathisers of anti-immigration movement Pegida gathered in Dresden on 5 October to criticise the German government for ignoring fears of mass Muslim immigration. The demonstration, beginning in front of the citys opera house, attracted several thousand people waving flags and holding banners against Islam in Germany.
The police declined to name an estimate of participants but the rapidly growing number of refugees entering Germany in the past months has rejuvenated the ranks of the previously dwindling right-wing gatherings.
The rallies of Pegida and its local affiliates initially peaked in November and December 2014, spreading rapidly across Germany, but then lost impetus during the following months. While foreigners are relatively scarce in Dresden and the Saxony region compared to other parts of Germany, Dresden remains to be a hub of right-wing protests in Germany.
The number of asylum seekers in Germany has surged to an expected one million overall in 2015 and gave rise to criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel spreading into the parties supporting her government. Politicians of both the CDU and the SPD are beginning to call for limits on the numbers of refugees entering the country, entailing strict border controls and a redistribution of refugees among EU member states.
