Amnesty International, Seebrücke and other organisations called for the rally under the slogan "Firewall instead of arson".
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00:00Hundreds of people have attended a rally in front of the centre-right CDU party's headquarters
00:06in Berlin, in protest against the passing of a stricter migration policy put forward
00:11by the CDU's leader, Friedrich Merz.
00:15The new policy, which would seek to turn back many more migrants at Germany's borders, has
00:21drawn criticism as it was only able to pass with the backing of the far-right Alternative
00:26for Germany party.
00:27We are shocked because the fact that the CDU has deliberately brought a motion by the AfD
00:33through the Bundestag is a taboo break.
00:36This is the start of a crumbling wall of fire that is supposed to protect us from living
00:41with fascism and authoritarianism in Germany again.
00:47The motion passed by 348 votes to 345 with 10 abstentions, after a combination of opposition
00:55parties, including the AfD, said they would back it.
00:59Merz has defended his policy and the support it has drawn from the far-right, saying a
01:04right decision does not become wrong because the wrong people agree.
01:09The vote comes just weeks before Germany heads to the polls to elect a new parliament, after
01:14Chancellor Schultz's three-party governing coalition collapsed.