Police presence prevents neo-Nazis from marching in Jewish quarter

1,400 police came out in force in Prague’s historic Jewish quarter as well as other parts of Prague on Saturday, a day when right-wing radicals said they would go ahead with a march officially banned by the city. November 10th marks the anniversary of the Nazi pogrom Kristallnacht, which targeted Jews in Germany in 1938. Prague City Hall made clear from the start it would break up any unauthorised demonstration. In the end, neo-Nazi extremists did not gather in the numbers expected; nor did any tried to break through where police were stationed. In a televised press conference early Saturday evening, Prague Mayor Pavel Bem said that the police had done an exemplary job in preventing the march from going ahead. He also stressed that incidents of violence in areas of Prague throughout the day had been isolated, and that if it stopped at that he would “be happy”.

According to the mayor, around 1,000 anarchists descended on Prague on Saturday, along with between 300-400 right-wing extremists.