The country’s interior minister has said his office has recorded more than 490 attacks – ranging from arson to racist graffiti – on refugee shelters in 2015.

Over 200,000 migrants are estimated to have entered Germany since the beginning of September, the vast majority over the Austrian border into Bavaria.

About 20 percent of the refugees that have come to Germany are Syrians, with about 18 percent coming from Kosovo and 13 percent from Albania.

It is unclear if Bavaria would have authority to alter border-policing activities.

Seehofer stopped short of a previous threat to close Bavaria’s borders – which as the state’s minister-president he does not have the legal power to do – while saying if the government did not act to improve the situation, “we’ll do whatever is necessary”.

Thus, Gabriel and Steinmeier set a numerical limit on the number of refugees for the first time, in contrast to Merkel, who has always declared that “the fundamental right of asylum for politically persecuted knows no limit”.

Official estimates are of 800,000 arrivals this year but a confidential government report leaked to German newspaper, Bild, suggested it could rise as high as 7.36 million – almost 10% of Germany’s total population.

Germany’s interior minister warned Friday of a “massive” increase in attacks on asylum seekers as the country accepts more refugees than any other European Union member. Both “are naturally very worried”, she said.

EarActiv Germany reported that the marches, organized by the “Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the Occident” group drew 9,000 participants, while Deutsche Welle added that a previous march last week gathered together another 7,500.

In recent months, Germany has seen growing violence against refugees. Merkel has also pledged support from her party for the scandal-lade industry, which has been hurt by VW’s admission it had rigged USA diesel emissions tests and possibly also in Europe.

The war in Syria and the migrant criss are also due to be on the agenda. That is why I can’t understand this intolerance.

“How is that supposed to work?” the chancellor said Wednesday, referring to migration caps, in an hour-long appearance on a nationally televised talk show to defend her stance.