Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters
Protests turned violent in Cologne on Saturday as hundreds of delegates from a right-wing party were met by demonstrators as they convened to discuss upcoming elections. Two police officers were injured and a car was set on fire in demonstrations against the party, with up to 50,000 protesters estimated in attendance. More than 4,000 police officers, many of them clad in riot gear, were deployed ahead of the conference. The demonstrations were held against the Alternative for Germany party, a populist party well-known for its anti-immigration stance and anti-Islam rhetoric. While the party has faced protests in the past, it is now polling between eight and 10 percent support – enough to give it seats in parliament for the first time in the September election. The protests got heated on Saturday after demonstrators tried to block the party’s members from entering the venue where they were meeting, prompting police to intervene, France 24 reported. No arrests have been reported, and no further details were available on the severity of the injuries suffered by police.