Thousands tried to prevent delegates from attending a meeting where Alice Weidel was nominated as the AfD's candidate for chancellor in next month's election.
Thousands of protesters chanting “No to Nazis” gathered in the German city of Riesa, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party held a key rally to endorse Alice Weidel as leader in the upcoming general election.
The rally, which brought together around 600 delegates on Saturday, ended two hours later when police cleared thousands of barricaded protesters in the AfD-based town in the eastern state of Saxony.
Organizers of the demonstration, who said that 12,000 people from all over the country would show up for the demonstration, said that the police beat up groups of protesters and used pepper spray to disperse them.
Maria Schmidt, a spokesperson for the organizers of the demonstration, said: “Today we defend the right of people to live safely without fear of deportation or attack.
“We all make it clear: Riesa is not a peaceful place for fascism,” he said.
Police said about 8,000 protesters had gathered outside the city's convention center. In the early hours of the morning, the spokesperson said that “there are no serious disturbances” but one road on the way to Riesa is still closed by the protesters.
During the rally at the convention center, Weidel congratulated his party colleagues for “defying the left-wing crowd” while party leader Tino Chrupalla accused the protesters of acting as “anti-democrats and terrorists”.
'Migration'
Analysts say Weidel – this week endorsed by tech billionaire Elon Musk in an interview broadcast live on X – has no realistic chance of becoming Germany's leader in the February 23 election.
Although polls show the far-right party in second place, attracting the support of around 20 percent of voters, other parties have refused to cooperate with it.
The AfD's two-day convention will see delegates finalize the party's election plan, while another proposed amendment commits the party to a “migration” policy – meaning a broad campaign to expel immigrants from Germany.
The conflict was also removed by the party's leadership's plans to replace its youth wing Junge Alternative (“Young Alternative”), which is considered an extremist group by the intelligence service.
The draft version of the manifesto also includes a promise to leave the euro and a reversal of Germany's exit from nuclear energy.
'Let's Fight'
Friedrich Merz, the candidate of the main opposition Unionist party with a lead of about 30 percent, is currently being chosen to be the next chancellor.
The union is focused on boosting Germany's sluggish economy and reducing illegal immigration.
At a news conference in Hamburg, Merz focused on bringing about “significant change” after the collapse of the unpopular and flawed coalition of centre-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz in November.
Scholz's coalition government collapsed after he sacked his finance minister in a fight to revive the economy, prompting an early election.
Scholz admitted on Saturday that mistakes had been made, but said it was time to look to the future.
“Let's fight,” he told delegates at the party's conference in Berlin, officially confirming his appointment as a member of the party with a show of hands.
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