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Demonstration against anti-Semitism in Berlin, October 13, 2019. AXEL SCHMIDT / AFP

Four days after the xenophobic and antisemitic attack on Halle in Saxony, Germany continues to react. The author of the attack wanted to attack a synagogue without being able to penetrate it. The assailant killed a passerby and the client of a Turkish restaurant. As elsewhere in the country, a demonstration against racism and anti-Semitism took place this Sunday, October 13 in Berlin.

With our correspondent in Berlin , Pascal Thibaut

" Those who speak of the alarm when a terrorist kills innocent people in Halle did not understand the seriousness of the situation. What we are witnessing is a disaster and not an alarm signal , "a speaker said in applause.

The protesters first wanted to show their solidarity with the victims of Halle, and also to denounce racism and anti - Semitism . But critics, even anger at politicians, are underlying. Speakers no longer wish to be satisfied with empty phrases , but require effective measures to combat antisemitism and its causes. Many feel that the danger has not been taken seriously enough for a long time.

There were 13,000 on Sunday in Berlin according to the organizers, half according to the police, to take to the streets four days after the attack in Halle . " We are all concerned by this problem: Jews, Arabs, all minorities, " said a protester. We thought we could not not come. "

A minute of silence for the victims of Halle https://t.co/nbISuCk5cs

Pascal Thibaut (@pthibaut) October 13, 2019

The AfD " political arm of radical extremism "

The protesters denounce, as some politicians, the fact that the success of the extreme right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) frees the floor. On Sunday morning, CDU President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer described the party as " the political arm of radical extremism ".

" With the party of the AfD, it is rather that people think that they can say things they did not dare to say before and take action too," confides another protester. That's what has changed, I can see it. "

In Halle, a demonstration also took place this Sunday. Others have been organized since Wednesday in many German cities.

► See also: After the attack on Halle, the fear of neo-Nazi terrorism