Thousands protest in Germany as far-right AfD party meets

Protesters from unions, civil society and left-wing parties aim to disrupt AfD annual conference in Erfurt.Thousands of opponents of the far-right Germany" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="3089" data-entity-type="organization">Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have blocked roads leading to the party’s annual conference ahead of regional elections.An estimated 20,000 people flocked to Erfurt, in Thuringia state, on Saturday, according to German police.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Is the AfD a threat to Germany? Mehdi Hasan & Maximilian Krahlist 2 of 3Did Germany lose its UNSC seat because of support for Israel?list 3 of 3German coalition agrees on sweeping reform package in key breakthroughend of listProtesters from unions, civil society groups and left-wing parties gathered in the centre of the city, some 250km (155 miles) southwest of the capital, Berlin. The police also reported several street blockades.“We want to make it clear that we simply won’t tolerate this, that fascism is on the rise here in Germany,” Georg Becker, a spokesperson for Widersetzen (“Resist”), an anti-AfD umbrella group, told the Reuters news agency.Large numbers of police, including reinforcements from across Germany, were deployed ahead of the AfD’s two-day conference. Police told the dpa news agency they counted more than 200 buses of protesters arriving in Erfurt.Protesters blocked routes into the city, with some abseiling from a motorway bridge. Several groups staged sit-in blockades around the city centre, the AFP news agency said. The Associated Press reported that some protesters clashed with police in riot gear.Still, most AfD delegates managed to reach the conference centre where party representatives said the congress began on time despite the protests.‘Anti-democratic’ and ‘extremist’ viewsAfD became the second largest party in elections last year, scoring the best result for a far-right party since World War II.