Around 20,000 people have gathered this Saturday in Erfurt to show their rejection of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), coinciding with the congress that the formation is holding in the capital of the state of Thuringia.
The protests have been organized in a decentralized manner and attendees have blocked several access roads to the city with the aim of slowing down the arrival of the 540 delegates summoned to the conclave in the center of Germany.
As a consequence, the A71 motorway remains closed and pickets have been set up on other roads leading into Erfurt. The Police have described the gathering as "legitimate" and are managing traffic disruptions in a "friendly and communicative" manner, according to German public radio and television. "Evacuations will only occur after several attempts to resolve the situation," a police spokesperson told ZDF.
From early in the morning, several marches of about 6,000 people each have set off towards the Erfurt congress center, where the official start of the congress was scheduled for 10:00 AM.
The anti-fascist alliance Widersetzen (Resist) had set out to prevent the AfD meeting from taking place and, although it has not achieved its main objective, it has valued the citizen response as a "success". "We have blocked the main access roads. We had already won before the day began. We have built a tremendous movement of resistance. Anti-fascist resistance is essential," emphasized spokesperson Noa Sander.
To bypass the blockades, delegates were transported in the early hours of the morning by bus to the congress venue, around 4:00 AM, accompanied at all times by a strong police presence.
At the start of the event, AfD parliamentary spokesperson Tino Chrupalla claimed the "success" of holding the congress, which he described as an "unprecedented event in German politics." "We are and will remain one heart, one soul. One heart that beats for Germany and a soul that lives for Germany," he stated.
Chrupalla and Alice Weidel are seeking to revalidate their leadership of the AfD as co-leaders, with a message focused on internal cohesion. "Country first. Then the party and then the individual," they have defended in their programmatic proposal.