Protesters rally as German far right sets up youth wing
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the western German city of Giessen and some clashed with police as the far-right Alternative for Germany’s new youth organization began its founding congress.
Groups of protesters blocked or attempted to block roads in and around the city on Saturday morning.
Police said at one point they used pepper spray after rocks were thrown at officers.
In another case, police said they used water cannon to clear a blockade of about 2,000 protesters who were ignoring calls to leave.
The previous youth organization was dissolved in March
The new youth organization of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) will be launched in Giessen’s congress center with a meeting that did not start until two hours later than planned.
Its predecessor, the Young Alternative, a largely autonomous group with relatively loose ties to the party, was dissolved at the end of March after the AfD decided to formally cut ties with the party.
AfD wants to follow the new group, which is expected to be called the German Generation, more closely.
The party finished second in Germany’s February national elections with more than 20 percent of the votes and is now the country’s largest opposition party.
The rise in the polls continued as Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition government failed to sway voters.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency concluded that Young Alternative was a proven far-right group.
It later classified the AfD as such a group, but suspended that designation after the AfD filed a legal challenge.
In a 2024 ruling rejecting a call for an injunction against the Young Alternative designation, a court in Cologne argued that preserving an ethnically defined German people and excluding “ethnically foreign” if possible was the group’s core political idea.
It also noted agitation against immigrants and refugees and links to extremist groups such as the Identity Movement.
In June, a high court ended the appeal process, stating that Genç Alternatif was dissolved.
It is common for German parties to have political youth wings that are more radical than other parties in general.
It remains to be seen whether the new AfD youth organization will be more moderate than its predecessor; At least some continuity is expected.
