One week after the protests by right-wing extremist groups at the CSD in Bautzen, tens of thousands of people celebrated a disruption-free and happy, peaceful Christopher Street Day in Leipzig. According to police reports from the evening, a total of 19,000 people took part in the parade.
A right-wing parade got stuck in the afternoon; the organizer ended the gathering after several violations. Three counter-demonstrations against the right-wing extremist march with a total of several hundred people remained without incident.
Right-wing extremists banned from the city center
After checking the approximately 400 participants in the neo-Nazi event, including four children and more than 160 young people, the police banned them from the city center for the rest of the day and accompanied some of them on their way out. A total of almost 80 administrative offences were recorded, mainly for carrying masked material, as well as around 40 criminal offences - incitement of the people, use of signs of unconstitutional organizations and violations of the Assembly Act.
The Pirna Federal Police posted on X that participants in the right-wing protest had already attracted attention on arrival due to their sometimes aggressive or militant behaviour. Dangerous objects had also been seized. The authorities therefore banned all gatherings in this context and possible alternative events for the rest of the day in the Leipzig city area. The CSD parade thus remained undisturbed until the end.
Large-scale police deployment
The police were also deployed on a large scale with 1,000 officers due to the events in Bautzen a week ago and the overall danger situation. Forces from Brandenburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt provided support, and 250 federal police officers were also deployed.
Up to 1,000 people had originally been registered for the far-right protest at the main station under the motto "proud, German, national". The CSD was supposed to pass within earshot and sight.
The "Leipzig nimmt Platz" alliance held rallies under the slogan "No room for Nazis". The network hailed its counter-protest against the neo-Nazis as a success. A total of around 1,000 to 1,500 people took part, said Irena Rudolph-Kokot. The right-wing march had been prevented and the participants had not even made it to their assembly area.
In her speech, Saxony's Minister for Equal Opportunities Katja Meier (Greens) emphasized the rights of queer people. Diversity must be celebrated and the fight against social and legal discrimination, exclusion and violence is "bitterly needed". Katrin Göring-Eckardt, Vice President of the Bundestag, and Sven Lehmann, the Federal Government's Queer Commissioner (both Greens), also showed their faces.
Remembrance of 1969
Christopher Street Day takes place every year in many cities around the world and commemorates events on June 28, 1969 in New York: police officers stormed a bar on Christopher Street, triggering several days of protests by gays, lesbians and trans people, among others. The CSD is intended to remind people of their rights.
The CSD in Bautzen last Saturday was accompanied by protests by right-wing extremists. Over 1,000 CSD participants faced a demonstration of around 680 people protesting "Against gender propaganda and identity confusion!!!". The small right-wing extremist party Freie Sachsen had also called for the demonstration. The organizers cancelled the planned closing party for security reasons.
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