Germany's conservatives gather after protests over far-right help

BERLIN, Feb 03 (AFP): Germany's conservative election front-runner riedrich Merz was set to outline his plans on immigration and the economy at party congress Monday after a weekend of mass protests against him, and with less than three weeks to go until national elections.

Opposition CDU leader Merz and his Bavarian CSU allies have vowed a crackdown on irregular migrants but provoked strong protests in parliament and on the streets after accepting support from MPs of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Their joint votes in parliament twice last week breached a long-standing taboo in post-war Germany and shattered what has been labelled a "firewall" of non-cooperation between mainstream and extremist parties.

Mass rallies were held in Berlin and other cities on Sunday with tens of thousands of protesters waving signs such as "Shame on you, CDU" and "We are the firewall".