Overview

• The two-hour forum opened with prolonged chants, whistles and sirens that drowned out Frohnmaier’s first remarks before police cleared dozens from the hall and issued place bans.
• More than a thousand people protested outside the venue, with officers reporting brief scuffles at the margins as demonstrations otherwise remained largely peaceful.
• The sold-out event drew roughly 700–800 attendees under strict access controls, including ID and bag checks, and was livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel.
• Six timed topic blocks moderated by rhetoric professor Joachim Knape guided exchanges on free speech, climate, security and migration, housing and social policy, the regional economy, and democracy and the rule of law.
• Supporters framed Mayor Boris Palmer’s choice as confronting the AfD in open debate, while critics decried giving the party a platform, reflecting Germany’s broader dispute over how to engage the far right.