Estimated 250,000 in "biggest ever" anti-nuclear protests in Germany

Anti-AKW-Demo am 16. März

More than 200,000 people took part in anti-nuclear protests in Germany on Saturday on the eve of state elections where criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel's nuclear policies has already given her opposition the edge. Organisers called it the biggest anti-nuclear demonstration Germany has seen, with police estimating 100,000 turned out in Berlin alone. Hamburg, Munich and Cologne also saw big rallies. Protesters called for all of Germany's 17 nuclear power plants to be shut down in the light in the nuclear breakdown in Japan.