Two police officers were attacked and seriously injured in Essen on Saturday, June 29, by demonstrators present to protest against the far-right AfD party, which is holding its congress in this city in western Germany.
The incident, which comes after a European campaign marked by violence against elected officials, took place near the town hall, the Grugahalle, where some 550 delegates from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) are meeting until Sunday, the police of the North Rhine-Westphalia region said in a statement.
“Unknown persons kicked two police officers in the head” and continued to “hit them while they were on the ground”she clarified. “Seriously injured”both men had to be hospitalized. Seven of their colleagues were also injured, but slightly, in the same attack. The perpetrators fled.
Eleven police officers were also attacked in the morning by protesters in part “hooded” during one of the many street blockades organized to disrupt the arrival of delegates from the far-right party. Several people were arrested, according to the authorities. A thousand police officers are mobilized to ensure security in the city, where the authorities had said they feared “potentially violent far-left troublemakers”.
“Against right-wing extremism and racism, we need strong democratic forces and peaceful protests”reacted the German Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, on “nothing justifies violence”she judged.
Peaceful demonstration against AfD
On Saturday, however, most of the 50,000 anti-AfD protesters according to the organizers – the police did not give figures – marched peacefully, carrying banners and placards reading: ” Resistance ! “ Or “Together for democracy”.
During the AfD congress, Tino Chrupalla, who was re-elected by a landslide, along with Alice Weidel, for two more years at the head of the AfD, displayed the party’s ambition to one day gain power in Germany. “We want to govern, first in the East, then in the West, then at the federal level” German, he said.
He highlighted the progress made at local level and in the European elections, in which this party, founded in 2013, obtained the best score in its history, with almost 16% of the vote, ahead of the Social Democratic Party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. And this despite the scandals that marred the campaign of the far-right movement.
The AfD, a party opposed to migrants, is also expected to win regional elections in three eastern German states in September, but without reaching a score that would allow it to govern alone. However, until now, the other parties have always ruled out cooperating with it.