Tens of thousands protest in Erfurt as AfD re-elects Weidel and Chrupalla, eyes state power
Up to 50,000 demonstrators blocked roads and clashed with police in Erfurt on Saturday as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) opened its federal congress, re-electing co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla amid record poll ratings.
Mass protests grip Erfurt
Police estimates of the crowd ranged from 20,000 to 31,000 people, while the anti-AfD alliance claimed 50,000 participants. Demonstrators blocked the A71 motorway and other access roads, with some sitting on carriageways to stop delegate buses. Officers used pepper spray in isolated cases and batons were seen in social media videos; two journalists were injured by thrown bottles and taken to hospital. Authorities reported fewer than 100 offences, many involving graffiti, and described the atmosphere as largely peaceful.
It has been largely peaceful so far. It is colourful and loud.
Congress opens on time despite blockades
Around 600 delegates reached the venue by gathering before 4:00 a.m. and travelling in coaches from meeting points far outside the city, bypassing the roadblocks. The two-day congress began punctually. Co-leader Tino Chrupalla mocked the protesters in his opening speech.
Who gets up early has more time... Antifa hooligans overslept their own disruption action.
Leadership re-elected, eyes on state power
Alice Weidel secured 81% of delegate votes and Tino Chrupalla 70%, extending their joint leadership that began in 2022. The party now counts 75,000 members, up roughly 25,000 from 2024, with a declared goal of 100,000. AfD leads national polls at 27–29%, ahead of the governing CDU/CSU at 22%, and hopes to win September state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
- 2024
- 50000
- 2026
- 75000
- Goal
- 100000
You will not break us! On the contrary, we will become stronger and bigger.
Historical shadow and pranks
The congress falls exactly 100 years after the first Nazi party (NSDAP) congress in nearby Weimar. The director of the Buchenwald memorial, a former concentration camp near Erfurt, said the timing and location were not accidental and that AfD increasingly references authoritarian-nationalist ideas from the 1920s and 1930s. Inside the hall, a hidden Bluetooth speaker repeatedly played the Imperial March from Star Wars, a prank that technicians traced to at least one device behind a curtain under the roof.
The timing and choice of location are certainly not coincidental.
