STORY: Thousands protested against Germany's far-right AfD and blocked roads to its annual conference in the eastern city of Erfurt on Saturday (July 4), where the party re-elected the two leaders who have overseen its rise as a national force.

Protesters from unions, civil society groups and left-wing parties gathered as large numbers of police, including reinforcements from across Germany, were deployed ahead of the AfD's two-day conference. AfD stands for Alternative for Germany.

The AfD launched the event by re-electing party chiefs Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, under whose leadership the AfD has surged to the top of national opinion polls ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives.

The opening speeches mocked and lambasted the protesters as anti-democratic. They revelled in the AfD's rise that could see the party taking power in regional elections this year for the first time, while painting their mainstream rivals as tired, out of touch and leading Germany into decline.

Underscoring the party's hard line on immigration, a song called "Send them back" played on the AfD's social media stream minutes before the convention opened. Inside the convention centre, vintage-style cards were on sale with slogans such as "YOU will be deported."

Bjoern Hoecke, seen as one of the party's most radical and controversial leaders, offered a mix of nostalgia and invective.

The conference comes ahead of elections in the eastern states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern that the AfD hopes will help pave the way for success at national level.

Opponents accuse the AfD of promoting racist policies and attitudes incompatible with Germany's democratic values, and say it would threaten the country's constitutional order.

Recent polls put AfD support as high as 29%, compared with around 22% for Merz's CDU/CSU conservatives.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: ERFURT, GERMANY (JULY 4, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. ULRICH SIEGMUND, CANDIDATE RUNNING FOR STATE ELECTION IN SAXONY-ANHALT IN SEPTEMBER, POSING FOR PHOTO WITH WOMAN WEARING TRADITIONAL GOWN AT ARRIVAL TO PARTY SUMMIT

2. SIEGMUND AND HEAD OF AFD ALICE WEIDEL ENTERING CONVENTION HALL SHOWING PAMPHLET READING (German) "YES"

3. VARIOUS OF CONVENTION HALL, HEAD OF AFD TINO CHRUPALLA SPEAKING

4. CHRUPALLA AT LECTERN

ERFURT, GERMANY (JULY 4, 2026) (ALTERNATIVE FUER DEUTSCHLAND - Access all)

5. (SOUNDBITE) (German) HEAD OF AFD TINO CHRUPALLA, AHEAD OF ELECTION FOR HEAD OF PARTY, SAYING:

"And we will govern. First at a regional level, then at national level. But it is also clear that our predecessors will leave us with a shambles. And people will put obstacles in our way wherever they can. We must all be prepared for that."

ERFURT, GERMANY (JULY 4, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

6. CHRUPALLA SPEAKING, SEEN ON BIG SCREEN

7. VARIOUS OF VOTING RESULT OF ELECTION FOR HEAD OF PARTY SHOWING 70.05 PERCENT FOR CHRUPALLA

8. VARIOUS OF DELEGATES WALKING TO CHRUPALLA TO CONGRATULATE HIM FOR THE RESULT

9. VARIOUS OF VOTING RESULT OF ELECTION FOR HEAD OF PARTY SHOWING 81.31 PERCENT FOR WEIDEL

10. WEIDEL AT LECTERN

11. WEIDEL SPEAKING, MOMENTS AHEAD OF ELECTION

12. DELEGATES WAVING GERMANY FLAGS

13. GERMANY FLAGS

14. WEIDEL AND CHRUPALLA WITH BOUQUET AFTER ELECTION

15. VARIOUS OF WEIDEL RECEIVING HUGS AND CONGRATULATIONS FOR HER ELECTION RESULT

16. CONVENTION HALL

17. VARIOUS OF STAFF UNMOUNTING PARTS OF WALL IN ORDER TO FIND DEVICE PLAYING TITLE MUSIC OF STAR WARS MOVIE, IN WHAT APPEARED TO BE A PLANTED ACT OF DISTURBANCE, AS MUSIC STOPPED AFTER STAFF MEMBERS FOUND DEVICE

18. HEADS OF PARTY SITTING ON STAGE AT BEGINNING OF PARTY SUMMIT

19. CONVENTION HALL WITH HEAD OF PARTY ON STATE LEVEL FOR THURINGIA, BJOERN HOECKE

ERFURT, GERMANY (JULY 4, 2026) (ALTERNATIVE FUER DEUTSCHLAND - Access all)

20. (SOUNDBITE) (German) HEAD OF AFD THURINGIA, BJOERN HOECKE, SAYING:

"This colourful civil society, which pretends to be the people and pretends to be the majority. But it is not the people, and it is not the majority. It is merely the front for the cartel party."

ERFURT, GERMANY (JULY 4, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

21. HOECKE AT LECTERN

22. CONVENTION HALL, HOECKE SEEN ON SCREEN

ERFURT, GERMANY (JULY 4, 2026) (ALTERNATIVE FUER DEUTSCHLAND - Access all)

23. (SOUNDBITE) (German) HEAD OF AFD ALICE WEIDEL, SAYING:

"I say to the opposition parties who are fuelling this hatred and incitement, and to the troublemakers out there on the doorstep: you won’t bring us down; on the contrary, we’re getting stronger and bigger all the time."

ERFURT, GERMANY (JULY 4, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

24. WEIDEL AT LECTERN

ERFURT, GERMANY (JULY 4, 2026) (ALTERNATIVE FUER DEUTSCHLAND - Access all)

25. (SOUNDBITE) (German) HEAD OF AFD ALICE WEIDEL, SAYING:

"In order for our party to remain viable for the future and to be able to set the political agenda in this country, our manifesto must be revised. It is essential that we adapt it to the rapid developments of the last ten years. The Federal Programme Commission is already working with our Policy Department to draw up a new manifesto. Our aim is to adopt a completely revised manifesto next year."

ERFURT, GERMANY (JULY 4, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

26. DELEGATES WAVING GERMANY FLAGS

27. GERMANY FLAGS

28. VARIOUS EXTERIOR OF CONVENTION HALL SURROUNDED BY POLICE OFFICERS

29. VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS REACHING AREA NEAR CONVENTION HALL

30. SIGN READING (German) "FOR DEMOCRACY. AGAINST AFD" AT DEMONSTRATION IN THE ERFURT CITY CENTRE HAPPENING WHILE SUMMIT WAS TAKING PLACE INSIDE THE CONVENTION HALL

31. VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATION AT CITY CENTRE

32. SIGN READING (German) "Generation conflict between classes not Generation Germany (NAME OF AFD YOUTH ORGANISATION)"

33. DEMONSTRATORS