Tens of thousands of people gathered in Berlin on Saturday to protest against nuclear power and put the issue at the heart of the upcoming national elections. They were led by 350 tractors driven by farmers who had begun their journey at the Gorleben nuclear waste dump.

As the gathering was taking place Greenpeace announced that its survey had found that 59 per cent of Germans were against Angela Merkel’s proposals to extend the lifetimes of the country’s 17 nuclear reactors. Even supporters of Chancellor Merkel’s own party, the CDU, and those of its potential coalition partner, the FDP, are equally split over the issue.

More news on the gathering, along with a photo gallery and video, is available (in German*) on the Greenpeace Germany website. There is also the transcript of the speech given by Greenpeace Finland’s nuclear campaigner, Lauri Myllyvirta at the Brandenburg Gate. Pictures twittered by Greenpeace International nuclear campaigner Aslihan Tumer can be seen here, here [http://twitpic.com/gkvtn], here and here.

* Google’s translation service can help those who don’t read German.