Hundreds of thousands protest across Germany against planned spending cuts
Unions said 175,000 people rallied in 15 cities as DGB leader Jasmin Fahimi warned against cuts to social support.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Germany on Saturday evening to demand a "strong welfare state" and oppose planned government spending cuts, unions said.
The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) reported that a total of 175,000 people participated in demonstrations that spread through 15 major cities.
In a speech in Essen, DGB leader Jasmin Fahimi criticized Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s labour and pension reform plans and warned of the negative effects of cuts to social support.
Protesters marched under the slogan "Hard-earned! Your job. Your health. Your pension" through city centres to press for secure employment, better working conditions and protection of workers’ rights, the unions said.
Police and union numbers
Police gave city-by-city estimates: between 20,000 and 25,000 in Nuremberg, about 12,000 in Essen and around 15,000 in Frankfurt am Main. Other counts included roughly 13,000 in Hanover, 16,000 in Stuttgart, 4,500 in Freiburg and 5,500 in Berlin.
Large rallies with thousands of attendees were also held in Hamburg, Kiel, Rostock, Magdeburg, Leipzig, Erfurt and Saarbrücken. Organisers and unions framed the mass demonstrations as a reaction to growing fears over job security in several sectors, notably the automotive industry.
Photo: press material from the event
