Police and protesters have clashed outside the annual conference of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
According to local media, tens of thousands of people protesting against the AfD gathered in the city of Essen. Police officers from all over the country were deployed to prevent disorder.
Local police said two officers were “kicked in the head” during the violence, seriously injured and taken to hospitalwhich began in the early morning hours of Saturday, before the official demonstration had even started.
The AfD congress comes just weeks after the party shocked Germany’s political establishment by finishing second in the European elections, winning 16% of all votes and defeating the ruling center-left party.
Disorder broke out at dawn on Saturday when a group of protesters tried to reach the Grugahalle music venue where the rally was to take place.
Delegates were seen being led to the venue by riot police after some protesters attempted to prevent the conference from taking place by blocking the road.
Police in Essen said two of its riot police officers were seriously injured.
“The officers were kicked while still on the ground,” police said.
“[They] had to be taken to hospital. [We] are currently evaluating video recordings to identify the perpetrators.”
According to police, seven more officers were slightly injured.
Police said they used batons and tear gas to control the crowd and made “several” arrests from midday.
As many as 100,000 people were expected to take part in the demonstrations this weekend, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.
The two-day AfD event was scheduled to involve around 600 delegates and began as planned mid-morning on Saturday.
The party’s co-chair, Alice Weidel, opened the meeting with the words: “We are here and we will stay.” She was re-elected as co-chair alongside Tino Chrupalla.
Counter-protesters marched through Essen on Friday, on the eve of the conference, and more demonstrations are expected on Sunday.
Authorities in Essen tried to ban the AfD from meeting in the city, but a court ruled that the party could do so anyway.
The AfD, which draws its support mainly from regions in eastern Germany, came fourth in the European Union parliamentary elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, the state where Essen is located.
Still, the channel performed better than expected, despite a scandal-ridden campaign that included the main candidate downplaying the crimes of the Nazis during World War II.
AfD candidates won 15 of Germany’s 96 parliamentary seats, coming in second behind the country’s largest opposition party, the centre-right CDU/CSU. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left SPD came in third.
