Dutch police have used teargas and a water cannon to disperse violent anti-immigration protesters in The Hague on Saturday, a local government spokesperson has said.

Thousands of people joined a protest organised by a rightwing activist demanding stricter immigration policies and a clampdown on asylum seekers, just over a month before a national election.

Large groups of protesters, many waving Dutch flags and flags associated with far-right groups, clashed violently with the police, throwing rocks and bottles, footage from broadcaster NOS showed.

A police car was set on fire and a group of protesters briefly blocked a highway near the site of the demonstration.

Local media reported that protesters also smashed several windows at the headquarters of the centre-left D66 party.

“Scum. You keep your hands off political parties,” the D66 party’s leader, Rob Jetten, wrote on X. “If you think you can intimidate us, tough luck. We will never let extremist rioters take our beautiful country away.”

A smaller group of rioters headed for the Dutch parliament complex, which is fenced off as it undergoes renovation.

Geert Wilders, the anti-migration populist politician who won the previous election in the Netherlands, was invited to speak at the demonstration but did not attend.

Instead Wilders, who has retained his lead in opinion polls ahead of the 29 October vote, condemned the violence on X, saying the use of force against police was “utterly unacceptable”, and calling those involved “idiots” and “scum”.