Protesters from unions, civil society and left-wing parties aim to disrupt AfD annual conference in Erfurt.
Thousands of opponents of the far-right 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.
Protesters 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.
