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An election poster from the Die Partei party (satirical party) in Chemnitz, August 12, 2019. It reads: "Saxony, you have rights," a play on words that means that Saxony has right-wing activists. REUTERS / Hannibal Hanschke

At a week of regional test elections, Saxony, in eastern Germany remains under tension. Polls predict a success of the far-right Alternative Party for Germany (AfD). While a demonstration for an open society was held Saturday in Dresden, the capital of Saxony, the AfD is campaigning. Chemnitz, where xenophobic clashes took place a year ago, remains a divided city.

With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibaut

"Herzschlag" "heartbeat": this is the name of the folk festival held in Chemnitz for three days. 10,000 people attended on Saturday. Many organizations mobilize and many artists give concerts.

It was a year ago during a similar party that a young German was killed in the street during an altercation with migrants. On Thursday, a court sentenced a Syrian refugee to nine and a half years in prison. The main suspect, an Iraqi, is still on the run. This murder had shaken the Saxon city and gave rise to xenophobic manifestations marked by overflows. The images went around the world.

It is no coincidence that the extreme right-wing party Alternative for Germany held a campaign rally on Saturday with its president ahead of Sunday's regional elections. The AfD is credited in Saxon polls with about 25% of the vote and doubles its score compared to the 2014 poll.

Faced with this expected success of the party, a demonstration for an open and tolerant society gathered Saturday at least 35,000 people in Dresden , the capital of the region.

This Sunday in Chemnitz, an extreme right organization wants to go down the street. Counter-demonstrations are planned. A situation that highlights the tensions still palpable in this region.

► See also: Germany: Saxony, epicenter of the extreme right