Thousands expected to protest AfD party congress in Erfurt

Erfurt, Germany is bracing for massive counter-demonstrations as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party holds its federal congress. Police anticipate up to 50,000 protesters, with several hundred already occupying a central square and blocking traffic early Friday. The congress, a two-day event, has seen over 30 registered assemblies planned by opposing groups.

Authorities have taken extensive security measures, deploying thousands of officers from across Germany. They have warned that hundreds of potentially violent individuals may be among the demonstrators. To manage the influx, police closed a section of the A71 highway. This action follows a court's decision to overturn a ban on demonstrations along certain routes to the congress venue.

The timing and location of the AfD congress carry symbolic weight, occurring 100 years after the Nazi Party's Reich Party Congress in Weimar on July 3-4, 1926. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution monitors the AfD as a suspected case of anti-constitutional activities, and multiple petitions call for a constitutional court review of the party's legality.