20,000 protest against AfD party conference in Germany

Around 20,000 people are marching in Erfurt, Germany on Saturday to protest against the far-right Alternative for Germany party's annual conference.

Antifascist protesters are blocking roads and tram lines around the city as riot police keep a watchful eye on proceedings.

"We want a society based on solidarity: equal rights, equal security, the right to residence and social security for all," Noa Sander, a spokesperson for the anti-AfD group Widersetzen, said. "That is what we stand for together here in Erfurt today".

Thüringen police described the protest as "legitimate" but said an AfD constituency office and police officers had been attacked with paint bombs and fireworks.

The conference nevertheless began as scheduled, the force later added in a post on social media.

The party re-elected Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla as co-chairs, ahead of local elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which the party hopes will help lay the groundwork for achieving broader success at the national level.

Chrupalla, aged 51, was re-elected with 70.05 per cent of the vote, whilst Weidel, aged 47, received 81.3 per cent. Neither faced any challengers.

The AfD is a Eurosceptic party that advocates strict immigration control and that has been critical of Berlin's support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

The party has seen growing support in national opinion polls in recent months. Recent polls have put support for the party at as much as 29%, versus 22% for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU/CSU group.