Massive protest in Germany against far-right AfD's youth wing, police use pepper spray, water cannons - What's happening

A massive protest broke out in Germany's central town of Giessen near Frankfurt on Saturday (Nov 30) to oppose the new youth wing of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party called "Generation Deutschland." At least 25,000 protesters marched on the streets resulting in the delay in a planned AfD event. The protesters gathered outside the AfD event venue chanting slogans against the party, blowing whistles and beating drums. Security was heightened with 5,000 officers patrolling near the venue. In defence of the party, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel condemned those who had caused "chaos" outside and said that those gathered in the hall were "the new generations of the party." The anti-immigration AfD came second in February's federal election, scoring the best performance of any far-right party in Germany since World War Two. It became main opposition and is eyeing to make further inroads in German politics ahead of elections next year in its eastern heartlands.

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AfD and its youth wing

The AfD has established a new youth wing because its youth organisation the Junge Alternative (JA) was classified as an extremist group by intelligence services, forcing the party to disband it earlier this year. According to AFP, the JA had frequently been involved in controversies, including its members using racist chants and holding meetings with neo-Nazis. The party's other co-leader Tino Chrupalla said that the new youth wing will "learn from past mistakes." It should be noted that in May this year, Germany's domestic security service declared the AfD as "right-wing extremist" organisation, fuelling calls to ban it. The party has challenged the designation in the courts.

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Generation Deutschland's first leader will be Jean-Pascal Hohm, who is an AfD state lawmaker from eastern Germany. He was elected leader by an overwhelming majority. In his speech to the hall he promised to "fight for a real change in migration policy so that Germany remains the homeland of Germans." As the speech continued inside, protesters clashed with police seeking to block the AfD meeting. Police used water cannons to disperse the protesters. They said that several officers were lightly injured. Carsten Kachelmus, a 52-year-old who works in programme management, told AFP: "We mustn't allow a new Hitler Youth to be created, especially us with our history here in Germany. That's why it's so important for us to show solidarity and to resist." Police also used pepper spray against the protesters after being pelted with rocks.

However, political observers expect Generation Deutschland to be at least as radical as the JA as it operated as a registered association relatively free of the parent party. Its successor is set to be more closely integrated into the AfD and subject to its disciplinary structures. The domestic spy agency's classification of the AfD as extremist has been called "blow against democracy" by the party members. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz also spoke against blanket ban on it and said that simply banning the far-right party would not end the groundswell of support for it. "10 million AfD voters — you can't ban them," he said.