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| Germany AdF meeting: Clashes before far-right conference | Germany AdF meeting: Clashes before far-right conference |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Hundreds of left-wing demonstrators have tried to block people entering a far-right party conference in the German city of Stuttgart. | Hundreds of left-wing demonstrators have tried to block people entering a far-right party conference in the German city of Stuttgart. |
| The Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party is expected to re-brand itself as openly anti-Islamic during the meeting. | The Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party is expected to re-brand itself as openly anti-Islamic during the meeting. |
| Police, who surrounded several hundred protesters, fired pepper spray at crowds. Close to 1,000 officers were deployed. | Police, who surrounded several hundred protesters, fired pepper spray at crowds. Close to 1,000 officers were deployed. |
| The AfD wants to ban the burqa and outlaw minarets in Germany. | The AfD wants to ban the burqa and outlaw minarets in Germany. |
| Despite the protest, the conference began as planned on Saturday morning. | Despite the protest, the conference began as planned on Saturday morning. |
| Germany jolted by right-wing poll success | |
| Guide to Europe's nationalist parties | |
| Nearly 2,000 members of the AfD are registered to attend the conference. The party achieved gains in all three states taking part in regional elections last month, claiming almost a quarter of the vote in the relatively poor eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. | |
| It had campaigned against what it called Chancellor Angela Merkel's "catastrophic" decision to accept a million migrants and refugees in 2015. | |
| In Saturday's conference, the party must agree a manifesto ahead of next year's general election. | |
| Proposals include withdrawal from the euro and the reintroduction of conscription, but there are splits within the party, including between its less hardline wing and the leadership. | |
| Before the conference, police encircled groups of demonstrators in a technique known as kettling. Some protesters were seen being dragged away, with others chanting 'Shame on you' at officers. | |
| Police did not say how many people were arrested. | |
| March state election results | |
| More on AfD |