Protesters in Berlin gathered outside CDU headquarters.Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Germany on Thursday to protest the conservative Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union parties.

American tech billionaire Elon Musk made a surprise address at the campaign launch for Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as thousands of people gathered across the country to protest the rise of the far-right party.

The AfD party is polling at about 20% before Germany's February 23 elections, a record for a party. The mainstream conservative CDU/CSU alliance leads with about 30%.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in cities across Germany on Thursday after a controversial motion demanding migration reforms was passed in parliament the previous day with support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

A who's who of German talent signed an open letter calling for political leaders to "uphold democratic values" after a historic vote in the Bundestag that saw anti-immigration proposal pass with the support of the far-right.

Protesters in Germany on Thursday rallied against the conservative CDU party to decry its cooperation with the far-right AfD in pushing through parliament a motion to demand a crackdown on immigration.

Thousands of people gathered in front of the headquarters of Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU) in Berlin on Thursday evening after it relied on the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to pass a divisive motion in parliament the day before.