Thousands of Germans turned out for an anti-Islam rally on Monday in Dresden, where some protesters wore black ribbons to show their solidarity with the 17 victims of last week’s terror attacks in Paris.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel bowed to pressure on Sunday and agreed to back popular opposition candidate Joachim Gauck to become president, averting a political fight that might have distracted her government from solving the euro zone crisis.
Germany's president resigned Friday in a scandal over favors he allegedly received before becoming head of state, and Chancellor Angela Merkel moved quickly to try and head off a domestic political crisis as she grapples with Europe's debt troubles.
The German president has fueled concerns of a split in Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats after he criticized a move by the European Central Bank to resume buying Italian and Spanish sovereign bonds.