Thousands of protesters gather as German far-right party sets up new youth organization

GIESSEN, Germany (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the western German city of Giessen on Saturday as the far-right Alternative for Germany’s new youth organization was set to kick off its founding convention.

Groups of protesters blocked or tried to block roads in and around the city of some 93,000 people in the early morning. Police said they used pepper spray after stones were thrown at officers at one location.

The new youth organization of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is to be set up in a meeting at Giessen’s convention center. Its predecessor, the Young Alternative — a largely autonomous group with relatively loose links to the party — was dissolved at the end of March after AfD decided to formally cut ties with it.

AfD wants to have closer oversight over the new group, expected to be called Generation Germany. The party finished second in Germany’s national election in February with over 20% of the vote and is now the country’s biggest opposition party. It has continued to rise in polls as Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition government has failed to impress voters.

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency had concluded that the Young Alternative was a proven right-wing extremist group. It later classified AfD itself as such a group, but suspended the designation after AfD launched a legal challenge.

It’s typical for German parties to have youth wings, which are generally more politically radical than the parties themselves.

AfD portrays itself as an anti-establishment force at a time of low trust in politicians. It first entered the national parliament in 2017 on the back of discontent with the arrival of large numbers of migrants in the mid-2010s, and curbing migration remains its signature theme. But it has shown a talent for capitalizing on discontent about other issues too in recent years.