Protesters block roads as far-right party holds German conference
Police estimated 20,000 demonstrators gathered in Erfurt as AfD delegates met ahead of regional elections.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Thousands of people protested in Erfurt on Saturday as the far-right Alternative for Germany opened its annual conference ahead of regional elections. German police estimated the crowd at about 20,000, with demonstrators blocking roads and staging sit-ins around the city, Al Jazeera reported, citing AFP, AP, dpa and Reuters.
The protests targeted a party that has become a central force in German politics. AfD finished second in last year’s elections, according to Al Jazeera, and opinion polls cited in the report suggest it has moved ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives.
Police said more than 200 buses carrying protesters arrived in Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia state, about 250km southwest of Berlin, according to the dpa news agency. Demonstrators included members of unions, civil society groups and left-wing parties, Al Jazeera reported.
Police reported several street blockades. AFP said groups held sit-ins around the city centre and that some protesters blocked routes into Erfurt, including by abseiling from a motorway bridge. The Associated Press reported clashes between some demonstrators and police in riot gear.
Authorities deployed large numbers of officers for the two-day AfD gathering, including reinforcements from other parts of Germany, according to Al Jazeera. Despite the disruption, most AfD delegates reached the conference venue, and party representatives said the congress started on schedule.
Calls for a ban
The protest alliance Widersetzen, which means “Resist,” said it wanted to prevent the party from operating as normal. “We want to make it clear that we simply won’t tolerate this, that fascism is on the rise here in Germany,” spokesperson Georg Becker told Reuters.
Noa Sander, another spokesperson for the alliance, told AFP that protesters wanted AfD banned. Sander accused the party of seeking “mass deportations and ethnic cleansing,” referring to AfD’s “remigration” demands, according to Al Jazeera.
“It should be banned. We intend to do this by blockading their party conference and standing in the way of the AfD, its policies and members wherever they appear, making sure they have no place in society,” Sander told AFP.
AfD’s rise has intensified pressure on Germany’s established parties. Al Jazeera reported that mainstream parties have ruled out cooperation with AfD, citing what they describe as its “anti-democratic” and “extremist” positions.
The party has also been monitored for several years by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency over suspicions of anti-constitutional activity, according to Al Jazeera. The report said AfD’s polling gains have been driven in part by years of economic stagnation.
Al Jazeera said AfD appears likely to take power at state level for the first time in Saxony-Anhalt, an eastern state, which could strengthen its national prospects. Its election performance last year was described in the report as the strongest showing for a far-right party in Germany since World War II.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.