Thousands of people demonstrated against a convention held by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Saturday as political parties launched their campaigns for next month’s national election.A heavy police presence was in place in Riesa – in the eastern state of Saxony,

Scuffles erupted between protesters and police ahead of a party congress of Germany’s far-right AfD in Riesa on Saturday (). The police tried to remove protesters from the street to secure AfD delegates access to the congress venue.

Protests organized on Saturday by an alliance of activists against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) have delayed the start of the party's conference in the eastern German state of Saxony. The protests come as three of Germany's major political parties are holding gatherings on the same day to finalize their election platforms and candidate nominations ahead of the national elections on February 23.