Germany's Youth Protests Turn Violent
After largely peaceful marches by a group called Gen Z regelt, rioters looted shops in Frankfurt and clashed with police in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg, as youth-led cost-of-living protests spread across Europe.
Rioters smashed and looted shops in central Frankfurt, including a gun shop, after a day of largely peaceful youth-led protests across Germany over the cost of living, school funding and compulsory military service. Violence also broke out in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg, and police used water cannon against crowds throwing fireworks, stones and bottles. The marches were organized by a campaign group called Gen Z regelt, German for "Gen Z takes charge." Tens of thousands marched nationwide. Police in Berlin said 27 officers were injured and up to 56 people were briefly detained at an evening demonstration. The group's spokeswoman, Lina Friedrich, said it wants better support for health care and schools and opposes compulsory military service. Hesse's interior minister, Roman Poseck, said about 100 "clearly identified left-wing extremists" had infiltrated the Frankfurt protest. On the same day, about 320,000 people marched in France, and protests also took place in Italy and Portugal.
Frankfurt police said "violent riots" were under way in the city center. Shop windows were smashed, Molotov cocktails were thrown at emergency workers, and people broke into stores and took goods such as sneakers, police said. Officers seized two weapons after the window of a gun shop was broken and arrested a suspect. Police closed off the main shopping street. Poseck, interior minister of the state of Hesse, which includes Frankfurt, said about 100 "clearly identified left-wing extremists" had infiltrated the march.
In Berlin, an evening demonstration after the larger daytime marches left 27 police officers injured and up to 56 people briefly detained, police said. In Cologne, officers were attacked near the main train station with bottles and a bicycle. In Hamburg, people dressed in black set off fireworks and set barricades on fire.
Gen Z regelt spokeswoman Lina Friedrich said the demonstrations were "to fight for peace and freedom, rather than for war and coercion." She said the group wants better support for the health and education systems, opposes compulsory military service and wants "a fairer distribution of the burden."
French authorities put Saturday's turnout at about 320,000. In Portugal, police cleared a tent camp in Lisbon set up by people protesting housing costs.