Berlin: Thousands of people have taken to the streets in several European cities in a show of solidarity with migrants seeking refuge in Europe.
In Berlin on Saturday some 3700 turned out according to local police, while organisers said 10,000 participated in a protest held on World Refugee Day, that had been called by German opposition parties Die Linke (The Left) and the Greens.
In the German capital, protesters chanted "No frontiers, no nations, stop deportation!" and "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here!".
Marching from the bohemian Kreuzberg district to the Brandenburg gate, some of the protesters held up Greek flags and posters bearings slogans supporting Athens, as a critical June 30 deadline in debt talks looms.
In France, hundreds gathered in the southern city of Marseille and in Calais, the northern port city used as a springboard by migrants seeking to reach Britain.
In the south-east, activists gathered in Menton near the Italian border, in solidarity with hundreds of migrants stuck in Italy after France refused to accept them.
In Rome too, scores of protesters braved the rain and gathered under the slogan "Stop the massacre now" to express solidarity with migrants risking their lives to sail across the Mediterranean Europe on rickety, overcrowded boats.
"We are here to save our Europe, which includes immigrants, refugees and Greece. Europe must belong to everyone, not just to the Germans and the banks," said Luciano Colletta, a 66-year-old pensioner, who stood along with the other protesters in front of the Colosseum.
However in the Slovakian capital Bratislava, at least 140 people were arrested after several thousands protested against immigration and EU quotas on migrant numbers at a rally organised by a group called Stop the Islamisation of Europe.
Protesters included far-right Marian Kotleba, the governor of a central Slovak region. "I wish you a nice, white day . . . We are here to save Slovakia," Mr Kotleba told the crowd.
At least 1800 people have drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean to find refuge in Europe.
On Friday, EU member states approved plans to launch the first phase of a military operation against people smugglers in the Mediterranean.
AFP