Mass demonstration against the far-right ‘Alternative for Germany’ convention

Despite the announcement by opponents of Alternative for Germany (AfD) to prevent the party conference in Essen with blockade demonstrations and sit-insthe event at the Gruga Hall in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, started with a slight delay.

AfD came second in the European elections on June 9 with 15.9 percent of the vote, despite a series of scandals and setbacks in recent months.

A particularly strong showing in the former communist east has raised their hopes of emerge as the strongest party in the three state elections that will be held in this part of Germany in September.

Weidel and Chrupalla towards a new mandate

At the party’s two-day conference in Essen, co-chairs Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla are expected to run for another term. Local authorities in Essen tried to prevent the party conference, but a court ruled in favor of the AfD.

Now a large police contingent protects the party conference. The German news agency dpa reported that Up to 100,000 people were expected over the weekend for a series of counter-demonstrations and other events. According to the police, on Friday afternoon around five thousand people attended a peaceful anti-AfD party titled “Bass gegen Hass” (Bass against hate). Early Saturday morning, a group of protesters attempted to break through a barrier and were repelled by police with pepper spray and batons.

There was also incidents in which masked protesters attacked officers, according to police, who reported “several” arrests.

Protesters held sit-ins on streets and intersections near the convention center. Several AfD delegates They said they were picked up at the hotel by the police and escorted to the venue while other delegates were able to arrive on foot without problems, Dpa reported.

At the start of the meeting, Weidel told delegates that “what is happening there has nothing to do with democracy” and promised: “We are here and we will stay.”