Tens of thousands protest against far-right AfD in Germany after state election victory

• Tens of thousands protested across Germany against the far-right AfD after it won nearly 44% in Saxony-Anhalt's state election, seeking to form the first extreme-right state government since WWII.
• Protesters called to "Ban the AfD now" and defended democracy, with organisers citing a broad civil society effort to prevent the party gaining power.
• Despite growing calls for a ban, legal hurdles remain and Chancellor Friedrich Merz is sceptical, while AfD holds counter-demonstrations and begins talks to form a government.

BERLIN - Tens of thousands of protesters took part in demonstrations across Germany on Sept 12 against the far-right AfD, after the party scored a crushing victory in a state election last week.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) topped the vote in the eastern region of Saxony-Anhalt, and is now seeking to form the first extreme-right state government in Germany since World War II.

About 150,000 demonstrators took to the streets in around 20 cities nationwide, including Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, in protests that were called by Pruef, which advocates for a ban on the AfD, organisers said.

They waved signs emblazoned with slogans that read “Ban the AfD now,” and “Democracy needs no alternatives”.

“A broad cross-section of civil society is taking to the streets to prevent the enemies of the constitution, the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt, from gaining government power,” said Christoph Bautz, head of campaign group Campact, also involved in the demonstrations.

The rise of the AfD has unnerved many who feel Germany has a special responsibility to atone for its Nazi past, and calls have grown for mainstream parties to seek to ban the group.

But hurdles for a formal ban are high in Germany, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, of the centre-right CDU party, remains sceptical about taking such an approach.

In Berlin, police said several thousand protesters took part in several demonstrations.

The AfD held a counter-demonstration in the capital, attended by Kristin Brinker, its lead candidate in next weekend’s regional elections in Berlin.

Campact said there were around 25,000 demonstrators in Hamburg and 12,000 in Munich.

The anti-immigration, Russia-friendly party took almost 44 per cent of the vote in a Sept 6 election in Saxony-Anhalt, against 17 per cent for the CDU.

It fell three seats short of an absolute majority, and has started talks with other groups and MPs in an effort to form a state government. AFP