Violence and robberies overshadow Generation Z protests across Germany

Protests against the rising cost of living that have swept parts of Europe reached Germany, where demonstrations in several cities were marred by clashes, looting and arrests.

Violent incidents were reported in Frankfurt, Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg. Police used water cannons to disperse crowds after groups of demonstrators threw pyrotechnics, stones and bottles.

Organisers, turnout and demands

Thousands took part in protests organised by the campaign "Generation Z Takes Control" to voice grievances about insufficient school funding, high living costs, cuts to public spending and mandatory military service. Authorities in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin said about 18,000 people demonstrated in those cities, roughly half the figure the organisers gave on their website, while German media reported tens of thousands of protesters nationwide.

Campaign spokesperson Lina Friedrich said: "The demonstrations were to fight for peace and freedom, not for war and coercion." She added: "What matters most to us is better support for the health and education systems. We are against compulsory military service and in favor of a fairer distribution of the burden."

Although daytime rallies were largely peaceful, violence rose after dark. Police in Frankfurt described "violent riots" in the city centre: shop windows were smashed and Molotov cocktails were thrown at emergency services. A weapons shop in Frankfurt was robbed, and officials later said two weapons were seized from those arrested.

Roman Posek, Hessian interior minister, said that "about 100 left-wing extremists" had infiltrated the Frankfurt protest. Observers compared the events in Germany to large-scale demonstrations elsewhere in Europe: in France more than 320,000 people took part in the third weekend of largely peaceful protests, with thousands of police deployed and more than 500 arrests in clashes in Toulouse, Lyon and Marseille.

Photo: DPA)