Tens of Thousands Protest as Germany's AfD Opens Party Conference

As Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party opened its conference, large protests took place in the streets around the venue. Euronews reported that around 20,000 people demonstrated in the state of Thuringia, and that police described the protest as legitimate while reporting that an AfD constituency office and officers had been targeted with paint bombs and fireworks.

Deutsche Welle reported that the gathering took place in Erfurt as thousands marched and blocked roads across the city, with a separate major fire straining emergency services in Stuttgart. The demonstrations did not stop the conference from proceeding. A court in Thuringia had overturned an attempt to prevent the congress from taking place, and inside the venue delegates reelected the party's leadership, extending the current leaders' terms, according to Al Jazeera. The two accounts, one pan-European and one German public broadcaster, largely agree on the scale of the protests and the mix of peaceful demonstration and isolated confrontations.

The events reflect the tension at the center of German politics. The AfD has grown into one of the country's strongest parties while facing sustained street opposition and official scrutiny, a divide that shapes the stability of Europe's largest economy at a moment when it is already contending with industrial weakness and questions about its energy and defense spending.