The group behind the protests rejected violence. Organizers and police gave very different turnout figures.
FRANKFURT, Germany – Masked rioters looted shops in Frankfurt on Saturday night as youth-led demonstrations across Germany turned violent, with police firing water cannon at youths throwing Molotov cocktails, AFP reported.
Tens of thousands joined protests organized by the campaign group “Gen Z regelt” (“Gen Z takes charge”) in 34 cities, including Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich, to demand better education and lower living costs and to oppose compulsory military service. Organizers said about 120,000 took part, below the roughly 180,000 they expected. Police in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin reported as many as 18,000 protesters, about half the 36,000 on the organizers’ website, Reuters reported.
Violence broke out in the evening, when some groups refused to disperse. Frankfurt police said “violent riots” were under way, with shop windows smashed and Molotov cocktails thrown at emergency personnel. A gun store was among the shops looted, and police said they arrested a suspect and seized two weapons. At least one officer was injured in Frankfurt, and another suffered minor injuries in Bonn. Some barricades were set on fire in Hamburg, and in Berlin, police said a separate protest not organized by “Gen Z regelt” pelted officers with eggs and bottles. Large numbers of arrests were reported.
“Gen Z regelt” explicitly rejected violence. Spokesperson Lina Friedrich said earlier in Berlin that the group wanted better support for health and education and a fairer sharing of the burden of compulsory military service. Germany’s national school student organization, BSK, distanced itself from the group and plans its own protest day on Nov. 20.
The demonstrations were inspired by youth-led protests in France and Italy, which Germany’s authorities had watched warily. Berlin was in contact with French and Italian officials amid fears that radicals from abroad could join. Before the protests, some businesses along Berlin’s luxury Kurfürstendamm boulevard boarded up their windows. Authorities had expected the protests to be largely peaceful but warned that extremist groups might try to exploit them.
This report draws on information from AFP, Reuters and the Associated Press.