PEGIDA supporters hold Europe-wide protests against refugees

Supporters of the German far-right anti-Islam PEGIDA movement took to the streets of several cities across Europe on Saturday to express their opposition to the influx of refugees into the continent.

According to Press TV, PEGIDA, a German acronym that stands for the “Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West,” has capitalized on the ongoing flow of asylum seekers into Europe to warn about the future of the continent.

It had called for the Saturday protests, urging its supporters to march under the anti-immigration banner of "Fortress Europe."

With approximately 2,000 attendees, the largest event was held in the city of Dresden, eastern Germany, which is the home town of the far-right offshoot.

There were also anti-refugee demonstrations in Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Ireland, France, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In Birmingham, Britain, between 100 and 300 protesters took part in the silent PEGIDA demonstration.

In Calais, France, which is home to the infamous "Jungle" refugee camp for those seeking passage across the Channel Tunnel to the UK, some 150 demonstrators defied a ban on protests and clashed with police.

ME