Thousands Protest in Germany Ahead of AfD Conference
Police said about 20,000 protesters blocked roads and delayed delegates as the far-right party opened its two-day meeting.
- On Saturday, July 4, 2026, thousands of protesters blocked roads and staged sit-ins across Erfurt, Germany, attempting to disrupt the Alternative for Germany annual convention.
- Critics and historians said the conference coincided with the 100th anniversary of a 1926 Nazi Party meeting in nearby Weimar, viewing it as deliberate provocation; AfD officials deny the timing was intentional.
- Police estimated around 31,000 demonstrators participated, while inside the venue, delegates re-elected co-leaders Alice Weidel with 81% of the vote and Tino Chrupalla with 70%, a sharp drop from his prior 83%.
- During opening speeches, AfD leaders mocked protesters and declared the party ready to govern regionally, targeting 40% of the vote in September's Saxony-Anhalt state election.
- Mainstream parties maintain a "firewall" policy refusing to cooperate with the AfD in coalition governments, though the party secured a court injunction earlier this year suspending its "extremist" designation.
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Germany is quietly falling apart
A figure with a shirt in colours of the German flag bears a sign with the lettering "Fear" near the Messe Erfurt fairground in Erfurt, eastern Germany on July 4, 2026, where the party congress of far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is held. Thousands of demonstrators flooded a German city on July 4, 2026 blocking major roads and disrupting public transport, in a bid to shut down the annual congress of the far-right AfD party. (Photo by RALF …
Thousands of people demonstrated against the AfD Federal Party Day in Erfurt. In our news blog you don't miss anything.
According to the polls, the far-right AfD is now the largest political party in Germany. The party conference in Erfurt therefore attracted members and thousands...
In Thuringia the congress of extreme right formation, first in the polls
Erfurt. Delegates of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party re-elected their leaders yesterday at their national convention in Erfurt, coinciding with the centenary of the Nazi Party meeting that consolidated Adolf Hitler's power over the fascist movement. Meanwhile, more than 31,000 people protested and attempted to disrupt the meeting outside the assembly hall. Some clashed with police.
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