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Thousands of leftist protesters took to the streets in the German city of Erfurt on Saturday and clashed with police as they opposed the conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Video showed police beating protesters with batons and deploying anti-riot weapons as protesters chanted slogans against the country’s conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) party at a massive political rally.
According to the Associated Press (AP), police said more than 30,000 people attended the demonstrations and people could be seen holding signs reading “Stop AfD Nazis” and “For diversity, against Nazis”.
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Despite tense clashes captured on video, police told news outlets that the demonstrations had been “mostly peaceful”, and claimed they had recorded nearly 100 law violations, mostly due to graffiti.
The standoff in the city of Erfurt in Thuringia state comes as the opposition Alternative for Germany party continues to lead all other parties in national opinion polls. (Ralph Hirschberger/AFP via Getty Images)
The protests coincided with the AfD’s party conference and leadership elections, during which the party, the second-largest parliamentary group in Germany’s Bundestag parliament, re-elected Alice Weidel and Tino Krupala as party co-leaders.
The AfD’s vote was delayed due to mass demonstrations, leading Kruppalla to criticize the way the protesters expressed their discontent.
Thousands of protesters flooded a German city on July 4, 2026, blocking major roads and disrupting public transportation, to close the annual congress of the conservative AfD party. (Ralph Hirschberger/AFP via Getty Images)
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“There are no peaceful blockades. There are no democratic blockades. Nor are there any gangs of thugs who deserve the harmless label ‘civil society.'” These rioters are the last resort of our political rivals, Churupalla said, according to the AP.
Protesters gather before a party conference of the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in Erfurt, Germany, on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Norouji)
Krupalla also accused the protesters of committing anti-democratic acts. “They believe they have a monopoly on democracy. To these protesters I say: This democracy is as much our democracy as it is yours.”
A spokesman for the local anti-fascist group Widersetzen apparently claimed that the group intended to block the AfD’s party conference.
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“The AfD pursues fascist policies: It wants mass deportations and terror on the streets. At the same time, however, it does not solve a single real problem,” Wiedersetzen spokeswoman Lena Raupach told the AP. “It adopts policies that benefit the rich, not ordinary citizens. And we want, broadly speaking, a society in which all people have equal opportunity and equal protection. We want a society based on solidarity.”
The AfD, fighting accusations of extremism from citizens and center-left and center-right politicians in the country’s ruling coalition, rejects the notion that it is extreme, arguing that it is “being used as a political tool by mainstream parties,” according to the AP.
The party has been experiencing a historic surge in popularity in recent years, securing more than 20% of the national vote in federal elections in 2025 and looking to achieve even more in the next election. Some federal surveys rank the party as the most popular party in the country today.
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“We will prevail. Perhaps we will soon be able to rule alone,” Krupalla said on Saturday. “This will send the right message to the enemies of democracy who wanted to stop our party convention from taking place.”
The party broadly supports the conservative moment created by President Donald Trump and the party shares similar stances to the Trump administration on social, cultural, and domestic issues, particularly on immigration. Perhaps inspired by Trump’s trademark slogan, a man attending the party conference on Saturday was seen wearing a “Make Germany Great Again” hat.
A man wearing a “Make Germany Great Again” hat at the convention center. The AfD’s national party conference will take place on 4 and 5 July at the Erfurt Convention Centre. (Martin Schutt/Image Alliance via Getty Images)
