The German government Sunday slammed the "unacceptable" behaviour of protesters during a mass rally against coronavirus restrictions in which hundreds were arrested and an attempt was made to storm the Reichstag parliament building.

The Reichstag is the "symbolic centre of our democracy", Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told Sunday's edition of the Bild newspaper.

"It is unacceptable to see extremists and trouble-makers use it for their own ends."

Police said some 38,000 people, double the number expected, had gathered in Berlin on Saturday to protest restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, such as the wearing of masks and social distancing.

Late Saturday, several hundred protesters broke through barriers and a police cordon to climb the steps leading to the entrance to the Reichstag.

They were narrowly prevented from entering the building by police, who used pepper spray and arrested several people.

Police initially appeared overwhelmed, as only a handful of officers were there to block the crowd.

"We cannot be present everywhere and it is precisely these weaknesses in the deployment that were exploited, in this case to cross the security barriers in order to reach the steps of the Reichstag," said local police spokesman Thilo Cablitz.

Images of the incident at the iconic building shocked Germany.

The Reichstag, where German deputies meet, has a powerful symbolic role in the country.

The building, with its famous dome, was burnt down by the Nazis in 1933 in an act aimed at destroying what remained of German democracy between the two world wars.

"Plurality of opinions" is a "characteristic of the good functioning of society," said Seehofer. But "freedom of assembly reaches its limits when public rules are trampled on."

- 'Merkel must go' -

About 300 people were arrested in scuffles with police, in front of the Reichstag but also outside the Russian embassy not far from there in the city centre, where protesters pelted police with bottles.

Berlin city authorities had initially decided not to allow the Saturday demonstration to go ahead, fearing that the protesters would not keep a distance of 1.5 metres (five feet) apart or comply with face mask requirements.

The ban sparked outrage from organisers and their supporters who flooded social media with angry messages vowing to protest anyway, with some even calling for violence.

But on the eve of the demo, Berlin's administrative court sided with the demonstrators, saying there was no indication that organisers would "deliberately ignore" social distancing rules and endanger public health.

Protesters waved German flags and shouted "Merkel must go!", a chant often used by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party against Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Some carried the flag of the German Reich which was used up until 1919.

"To see the flags of the Empire in front of the parliament is shameful," tweeted Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

The rally came as coronavirus cases continue to rise in Germany, with daily new infection numbers reaching highs not seen since April.

Merkel and the leaders of Germany's 16 federal states on Thursday introduced tougher coronavirus restrictions to curb the pandemic, including a minimum 50 euro ($59) fine for people caught not wearing face masks where one is compulsory.

The German government Sunday slammed the "unacceptable" behaviour of protesters during a mass rally against coronavirus restrictions in which hundreds were arrested and an attempt was made to storm the Reichstag parliament building.

The German government Sunday slammed the "unacceptable" behaviour of protesters during a mass rally against coronavirus restrictions in which hundreds were arrested and an attempt was made to storm the Reichstag parliament building. The Reichstag is the "symbolic centre of our democracy", Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told Sunday's edition of the Bild newspaper. "It is unacceptable to see extremists and trouble-makers use it for their own ends." Police said some 38,000 people, double the number expected, had gathered in Berlin on Saturday to protest restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, such as the wearing of masks and social distancing. Late Saturday, several hundred protesters broke through barriers and a police cordon to climb the steps leading to the entrance to the Reichstag. They were narrowly prevented from entering the building by police, who used pepper spray and arrested several people. Police initially appeared overwhelmed, as only a handful of officers were there to block the crowd. "We cannot be present everywhere and it is precisely these weaknesses in the deployment that were exploited, in this case to cross the security barriers in order to reach the steps of the Reichstag," said local police spokesman Thilo Cablitz. Images of the incident at the iconic building shocked Germany. The Reichstag, where German deputies meet, has a powerful symbolic role in the country. The building, with its famous dome, was burnt down by the Nazis in 1933 in an act aimed at destroying what remained of German democracy between the two world wars. "Plurality of opinions" is a "characteristic of the good functioning of society," said Seehofer. But "freedom of assembly reaches its limits when public rules are trampled on." - 'Merkel must go' - About 300 people were arrested in scuffles with police, in front of the Reichstag but also outside the Russian embassy not far from there in the city centre, where protesters pelted police with bottles. Berlin city authorities had initially decided not to allow the Saturday demonstration to go ahead, fearing that the protesters would not keep a distance of 1.5 metres (five feet) apart or comply with face mask requirements. The ban sparked outrage from organisers and their supporters who flooded social media with angry messages vowing to protest anyway, with some even calling for violence. But on the eve of the demo, Berlin's administrative court sided with the demonstrators, saying there was no indication that organisers would "deliberately ignore" social distancing rules and endanger public health. Protesters waved German flags and shouted "Merkel must go!", a chant often used by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party against Chancellor Angela Merkel. Some carried the flag of the German Reich which was used up until 1919. "To see the flags of the Empire in front of the parliament is shameful," tweeted Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. The rally came as coronavirus cases continue to rise in Germany, with daily new infection numbers reaching highs not seen since April. Merkel and the leaders of Germany's 16 federal states on Thursday introduced tougher coronavirus restrictions to curb the pandemic, including a minimum 50 euro ($59) fine for people caught not wearing face masks where one is compulsory.

German govt condemns 'unacceptable' attempt to storm Reichstag

German Chancellor Angela Merkel&#39;s government on Wednesday set September 24 as the date for a general election, as she seeks a fourth term facing populist headwinds over a record migrant influx.

The decision, adopted by Merkel&#39;s right-left coalition cabinet, must still be formally approved by President Joachim Gauck.

But the announcement fires the starting gun for an election campaign that Merkel has said will be her toughest yet due to opposition to her liberal asylum policy.

Merkel, 62, is nevertheless the clear frontrunner in the race and enjoys solid popularity in Europe&#39;s top economy.&nbsp;

A poll released Wednesday showed her conservative Christian Union bloc (CDU/CSU) as the strongest political force in the country with 38 per cent.

It was followed in distant second by the Social Democrats (SPD), the current junior partners in Merkel&#39;s &quot;grand coalition&quot; government, which polled at 21 per cent.

The right-wing anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has railed against Merkel&#39;s decision to let in more than one million asylum seekers since 2015, lost one percentage point compared to last week to reach 11 per cent.

The head of the Forsa opinion research institute which conducted the poll, Manfred Guellner, said a jihadist attack on a Berlin Christmas market last month that killed 12 people and was committed by a rejected asylum seeker had failed to boost support for the AfD.&nbsp;

&quot;Although the security debate after the Berlin terror attack is running high, the AfD is unable to capitalise on it,&quot; Guellner said in a statement.

&quot;It is actually losing support while the CDU/CSU and the SPD are stabilising.&quot;

Radical surge&nbsp;

The AfD, born as a eurosceptic party in 2013, has attempted to harness public unease with migration and asylum and, due to its relative strength, threatens to scramble the potentially complicated arithmetic of coalition building after the election.

It hopes to become the first populist party to gain seats in the Bundestag lower house of parliament in post-war Germany.

The AfD, seeking to gain momentum from a surge of European radical parties, will host a meeting of far-right leaders in the western city of Koblenz on Saturday.

Leaders expected to attend include Marine Le Pen, the presidential candidate for France&#39;s National Front; Harald Vilimsky of Austria&#39;s nationalist FPOe party; and Dutch MP Geert Wilders of the anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV).&nbsp;

The Forsa poll, conducted January 9 to 13 among a representative sample of 2,053 eligible voters, showed the ecologist Greens and the far-left Linke each at nine per cent and the pro-business Free Democrats at six per cent.

The Greens, who have been mentioned as potential partners in government for Merkel after the election, on Monday chose two members of their pragmatist wing, Cem Ozdemir and Katrin Goering-Eckardt, to lead the party into the general election.

Both have praised Merkel&#39;s stance on refugees.

However, Merkel has faced blowback from within her own conservative bloc, with the Christian Social Union in the southern state of Bavaria agitating for an upper limit on new asylum seekers &mdash;&nbsp;a bid Merkel has repeatedly rejected. &nbsp;

US President-elect Donald Trump said in a newspaper interview Monday that Merkel had made a &quot;catastrophic mistake&quot; in letting migrants flood into Germany.

Yet some analysts say German uncertainty over the future of the post-war order with Trump at the helm in Washington and Britain leaving the European Union could help Merkel&#39;s campaign as voters long for stability. 
 
(AFP)

The decision, adopted by Merkel's right-left coalition cabinet, must still be formally approved by President Joachim Gauck

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government on Wednesday set September 24 as the date for a general election, as she seeks a fourth term facing populist headwinds over a record migrant influx. The decision, adopted by Merkel's right-left coalition cabinet, must still be formally approved by President Joachim Gauck. But the announcement fires the starting gun for an election campaign that Merkel has said will be her toughest yet due to opposition to her liberal asylum policy. Merkel, 62, is nevertheless the clear frontrunner in the race and enjoys solid popularity in Europe's top economy. A poll released Wednesday showed her conservative Christian Union bloc (CDU/CSU) as the strongest political force in the country with 38 per cent. It was followed in distant second by the Social Democrats (SPD), the current junior partners in Merkel's "grand coalition" government, which polled at 21 per cent. The right-wing anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has railed against Merkel's decision to let in more than one million asylum seekers since 2015, lost one percentage point compared to last week to reach 11 per cent. The head of the Forsa opinion research institute which conducted the poll, Manfred Guellner, said a jihadist attack on a Berlin Christmas market last month that killed 12 people and was committed by a rejected asylum seeker had failed to boost support for the AfD. "Although the security debate after the Berlin terror attack is running high, the AfD is unable to capitalise on it," Guellner said in a statement. "It is actually losing support while the CDU/CSU and the SPD are stabilising." Radical surge The AfD, born as a eurosceptic party in 2013, has attempted to harness public unease with migration and asylum and, due to its relative strength, threatens to scramble the potentially complicated arithmetic of coalition building after the election. It hopes to become the first populist party to gain seats in the Bundestag lower house of parliament in post-war Germany. The AfD, seeking to gain momentum from a surge of European radical parties, will host a meeting of far-right leaders in the western city of Koblenz on Saturday. Leaders expected to attend include Marine Le Pen, the presidential candidate for France's National Front; Harald Vilimsky of Austria's nationalist FPOe party; and Dutch MP Geert Wilders of the anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV). The Forsa poll, conducted January 9 to 13 among a representative sample of 2,053 eligible voters, showed the ecologist Greens and the far-left Linke each at nine per cent and the pro-business Free Democrats at six per cent. The Greens, who have been mentioned as potential partners in government for Merkel after the election, on Monday chose two members of their pragmatist wing, Cem Ozdemir and Katrin Goering-Eckardt, to lead the party into the general election. Both have praised Merkel's stance on refugees. However, Merkel has faced blowback from within her own conservative bloc, with the Christian Social Union in the southern state of Bavaria agitating for an upper limit on new asylum seekers — a bid Merkel has repeatedly rejected. US President-elect Donald Trump said in a newspaper interview Monday that Merkel had made a "catastrophic mistake" in letting migrants flood into Germany. Yet some analysts say German uncertainty over the future of the post-war order with Trump at the helm in Washington and Britain leaving the European Union could help Merkel's campaign as voters long for stability. (AFP)

Germany: Angela Merkel sets September 24 as date for general elections

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German govt condemns 'unacceptable' attempt to storm Reichstag

Germany: Angela Merkel sets September 24 as date for general elections