Germany/ The congress of the AfD extremists is accompanied by massive protests

Due to massive protests, the start of the AfD federal party congress in Riesa, Saxony, was delayed by two hours. Demonstrators blocked the entrance roads. A tense atmosphere between protesters and police.

Several thousand people protested Saturday morning in Riesa, Saxony, against the planned conference of the populist party, the AfD. Groups of demonstrators from all over Germany blocked the entrances to the city and the "WT Arena" event hall, where the conference of the partly far-right party, the AfD, is taking place.

Because only a few of the approximately 600 AfD delegates arrived in time, the meeting started at noon, about two hours late. According to information from party circles, AfD co-chair Alice Weidel, who will be nominated as the AfD's candidate for chancellor at the two-day meeting, was also late.

Protest organizers speak of "complete success"

The protest was called for by several civil society organizations and unions. A spokeswoman for the "Oppose" action alliance, which helped organize the rallies, described the protest action as a "complete success." She was not yet able to give an estimate of the number of participants. According to authorities, up to 10,000 demonstrators are expected in Riesa.

The organizer told the AFP news agency that "this is the biggest demonstration Riesa has ever seen," and reported individual "clashes" with security forces. The stated goal of "Oppose" is to organize "mass civil disobedience against the AfD federal party conference."