Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has welcomed the demonstrations in several German cities against "racism and hate speech".

"I am grateful that tens of thousands are taking to the streets all over Germany these days - against racism, hate speech and for our free democracy," the Chancellor wrote on Platform X on Wednesday. This is encouraging and shows: "We democrats are many - much more than those who want to divide," he added. Further rallies are planned for the coming days, including in Frankfurt. Scholz himself took part in such a rally in Potsdam last Saturday.

The protests were triggered by reports of a meeting in Potsdam, which was allegedly about the mass deportation of migrants. AfD officials and a member of the CDU were among those present. AfD co-federal spokesperson Alice Weidel emphasized that it was not an AfD meeting and that the party supports increased deportations in the fight against irregular migration, but not the mass deportations mentioned in reports.

Cautionary voices also came from the business world. "As CEO, I consider an economic and social policy aimed at isolation to be harmful and a threat to prosperity for us all," wrote Infineon CEO Jochen Hanebeck on the Linkedin platform. Fears and concerns can be discussed, he said. "However, the fundamental values of our peaceful coexistence are non-negotiable. Hate and exclusion must have no place in our society. The idea of so-called remigration is inhumane," he added, alluding to deportation ideas discussed by right-wing extremists.

(Report by Andreas Rinke; edited by ..... If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)