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Protests in Germany Turn Violent as Stores Looted in Frankfurt
Confirmed
In Short: In Frankfurt, Germany’s financial hub, at least two stores were looted and several more damaged as protests organized by the campaign group 'Gen Z regelt' turned violent.
Police in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin reported as many as 18,000 protesters, half the number organizers claimed on their website. The demonstrations drew tens of thousands of people onto the streets of major cities, with protesters demanding better support for health and education systems, opposing compulsory military service, and calling for a fairer distribution of burdens.
Steve, an 18-year-old protester due to speak at a rally in Munich, criticized the government for offering no response other than to continue making cuts and piling further burdens upon them.
Violent disturbances continued, with hooded rioters throwing stones, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails at emergency services. Police in Frankfurt reported on X that violent disturbances were continuing.
Roman Poseck, interior minister of the state of Hesse, said that 'around 100 clearly identified left-wing extremists' had infiltrated the protest in Frankfurt. He warned, 'We all have those images from France in our minds — looting, burning houses, burning police vehicles, and attacks on police officers.'
A large section of Frankfurt’s main shopping street was closed as authorities sought to quell the unrest, with police vans and rioters preventing anyone from entering, according to an AFP journalist.
The national umbrella organization for school students, BSK, distanced itself from the initiative and announced plans for a separate protest day on November 20.
In Serbia, student-led activism helped unseat the country’s longtime leader at the ballot box, while protests in France have descended into rioting and looting.
Sean Baker, a student at the Technical University of Berlin, said he would join the protests to call attention to the poor state of buildings on campus. 'I’ve been waiting for a long time for something to finally really happen, and for people to tackle this with a bit more force. I believe that today here is the first step.'
What this adds
The protests in Germany follow a wave of Gen Z-led demonstrations across Europe this year, with similar unrest in France and Italy.
Parts of Germany’s far-left extremist scene and some groups linked to foreign extremist movements have joined efforts to mobilize support, according to the federal interior ministry.
Background
Italy sent 500 troops to Milan to maintain security amid protests that turned violent, injuring dozens and damaging property.
What's confirmed
- In Frankfurt, Germany’s financial hub, at least two stores were looted as protests turned violent, with several more damaged and police trying to get the situation under control.
- The German protests organized by the campaign group “Gen Z regelt” — “Gen Z takes charge” in German — took place in 34 cities including Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich.
- Police in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin reported as many as 18,000 protesters, half the roughly 36,000 on the organizers’ website.
- “Violent disturbances are continuing,” Frankfurt police said on X.
- The protests followed a wave of Gen Z-led demonstrations across Europe this year.
- FRANKFURT/BERLIN: Hooded rioters looted stores in Frankfurt late on Saturday after tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across Germany’s biggest cities to demand better education and lower living costs.
- Parts of Germany’s far-left extremist scene and some groups linked to foreign extremist movements have joined efforts to mobilise support, according to the federal interior ministry.
- In Serbia, student-led activism helped unseat the country’s longtime leader at the ballot box, while protests in France have descended into rioting and looting.
What's still developing
- READ: Clashes break out as hundreds of thousands protest in France “GenZ regelt!” said around 120,000 people took part in the demonstrations, fewer than the approximately 180,000 it had expected.
- “I think it’s really important to show solidarity with all the other protests currently happening across Europe, including in France,” Milla, a 20-year-old student who gave only her first name, told AFP in Berlin.
- Rioters in Germany have smashed shop windows, looted stores and attacked officers as 'Gen-Z' protests took place in 34 cities.
- In Frankfurt, at least two stores were looted and several others damaged as the demonstrations turned violent, a Reuters witness reported.