-A member of Germany's central bank whose remarks about Jews and Muslims have prompted outrage sparked fresh protests Monday as he unveiled a new book amid calls for his resignation.
Several hundred people, some waving banners reading "stop far-right populism" braved the Berlin drizzle to protest against Thilo Sarrazin, 65, whose book "Germany is doing away with itself" hit the stands earlier Monday.
After several controversial comments about Muslims, Sarrazin's latest remarks about Jews resulted in fury across the political spectrum and were featured on most of the country's front pages on Monday.
He told the Welt am Sonntag weekly: "All Jews share a particular gene, Basques share particular genes, that differentiate them from others."
Chancellor Angela Merkel slamed his comments as "completely unacceptable."
"The way this is being discussed is dividing society," Merkel said in an interview with public broadcaster ARD late Sunday.
Sarrazin's party, the Social Democrats (SPD), also reacted angrily, with some calling for him to be kicked out of the party and for him to lose his position on the six-man board of the powerful Bundesbank.
However, Sarrazin has steadfastly clung to his post at the Bundesbank, despite being stripped of some responsibilities for previous remarks about Muslims.
In October, he said that Turks were "conquering Germany in exactly the same way the Kosovars conquered Kosovo: with a higher birth rate."
"A large number of Arabs and Turks in this city (Berlin) ... have no productive function other than selling fruit and vegetables," he added.
Axel Weber, the Bundesbank president, widely tipped to replace Jean-Claude Trichet as the boss of the European Central Bank next year, has criticized Sarrazin but is powerless to remove him, as he is a political appointee.
Weber was due to make a statement on the issue later Monday.