Protests swept Germany over the rising cost of living, education funding, social justice and climate protection, with young people of Generation Z also calling for the resignation of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
About 100,000 people took part in protests held in 34 German cities on Saturday (October 31). The youth group Gen Z Regelt called the action. According to police, however, turnout in most cities was lower than the organisers had expected.
According to a report by the broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), the protesters’ main demands included better facilities at schools and universities, a lower cost of living and social justice. They also voiced anger at the government’s moves to raise military spending and recruit new soldiers.
Protesters fear these steps are laying the ground for compulsory military service to return in Germany. Some carried banners demanding that Chancellor Merz step down.
The protests were peaceful in most places during the day, but tensions rose in several cities after dark. In Berlin, police estimated that about 5,000 people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate, although the organisers put the number at 10,000. About 6,700 people took part in Hamburg.
The most violent scenes were in Frankfurt, where some protesters smashed shop windows. There were also reports of looting in shopping centres and retail areas, and Molotov cocktails were thrown at police. Police detained about 30 people. The interior minister of the state of Hesse blamed about 100 left-wing extremists for the attacks.
Near Cologne Cathedral, about 200 protesters clashed with police, throwing bottles and bicycles at officers. In Berlin, police also broke up a separate rally in the evening. Stones thrown at police left 27 officers lightly injured, and up to 56 protesters were briefly detained. Unrest was also reported in Hamburg, Bremen and Bonn.
A senior official of the police union nevertheless described the Gen Z protests as peaceful overall. He said a number of masked people had broken away from the main body of protesters and turned to violence.
The German movement is part of wider youth-led protests in several European countries, which began with student demonstrations in France. Education researcher Nina Kolleck warned that if young people are not included in policymaking and decisions, support for populist parties among them could grow.
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