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Europe

German police clash with protesters trying to disrupt far-right AfD party convention

2026-07-05

[IsraelTimes] Alternative for Germany, nation’s largest opposition party, seeks to extend co-leaders’ tenure at Erfurt in show of unity, as election gains test mainstream’s ‘firewall’ around i5

Thousands of protesters aimed to disrupt the national convention of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party on Saturday, with some clashing with police in riot gear outside the meeting.

Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is meeting in the eastern city of Erfurt to elect its leaders, which German parties do every two years.

The party seeks to show unity while extending the terms of leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, who have run the party together for four years.

The demonstrations outside the convention reflect how AfD has divided Germany even as it is the nation’s biggest opposition party nationally.

The weekend convention has drawn additional controversy by coinciding with the 100-year anniversary of a Nazi Party meeting held nearby that consolidated Adolf Hitler
Hitler

...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days, sometimes every few hour if it's an election year, as a politician somebody doesn't like...
’s power over the fascist
...anybody you disagree with, damn them...
movement.

Historians and political opponents say the timing carries powerful symbolism, an accusation the AfD rejects.

Weidel said recently that "2026 is a year of destiny for AfD." Mainstream parties say they won’t work with it, a stance often known as a "firewall."

But AfD is capitalizing on the unpopularity of a government that is trying to reform the sluggish economy.

…but not trying very hard to get rid of the Moslem colonists that are causing so many problems, which is even nore important than the economic piece.

The party has become adept at harnessing discontent with issues well beyond its signature theme of curbing migration, which powered its rise in the mid-2010s.

AfD hopes to win 40% or more of the vote in a September 6 state election in the eastern region of Saxony-Anhalt. That could put the party on course for an absolute majority or in a position where it might try to attract defectors from other parties, paving the way for its first state governor.

Deutsche Welle adds:

More than 30,000 people protested in Erfurt against the AfD party convention, which is taking place there this weekend.

"Most of the protests were peaceful. It's colorful and loud—we can be satisfied," said Thuringia’s Interior Minister Georg Maier at the scene.

Maier is a member of the center-left Social Democratic Party, and Thuringia is the eastern German state where Erfurt is located.

DW reporter Paul Jäger, who was present at the demonstrations, confirmed this: "People came from all over Germany. They said that simply voting for a different party wasn’t enough for them; they wanted to take a stand for democracy by actively protesting on the ground."

Voting not being adequate to convey their opinion of the matter, they need to anti-democratically object to the existence of a political party that disagrees with their party.

Nevertheless, he witnessed acts of violence during the numerous protests. Especially around the convention center, where the party convention was held, there was violence against journalists from conservative media outlets and clashes between the left-wing Antifa movement and the police.

Mostly peaceful, except for the anarchocommunist syndicalist terror group Antifa, which directly threatened violence before the conference began? That makes it Page 1: War on Terror.

On Sunday, the delegates' meeting of the far-right AfD will come to an end. Unlike at many previous party conventions, this year's focus is on demonstrating unity.

Given the historically high poll numbers and the upcoming elections in three eastern German states in September, the party does not want to display any public differences or provoke new controversies. Most speeches, therefore, refrained from verbal escalations and mutual attacks.

More from Deutsche Welle:

Despite blockading nearby streets,the AfD conference began on time.

Around 31,000 people took part in protests against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), outside the party's conference venue in Erfurt, eastern Germany, police said.

Union members, civil society groups and left-wing activists sat in rows to block highways and roads leading to the convention centre where the 2-day conference is happening.

Police reinforcements from across Germany were deployed alongside local officers in case of violence.

Earlier, police said the protests were largely peaceful, although police said they used pepper spray during isolated clashes.

In the later statement, police said it had recorded 16 protests during the day and that around 10,000 people had taken part in the sit-down blockade of several streets in the city.

Some 60 people were arrested, 48 for criminal offenses and 11 for administrative offenses, the statement said.

The police said an investigation has been launched after several journalists were injured during the protests.

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