Tens of thousands of young protesters marched across more than 30 German cities on Saturday, demanding increased education funding, lower living costs, and an end to plans for compulsory military service.
The demonstrations, organized by the group *Gen Z regelt* ("Gen Z has got this!"), began peacefully, with organizers reporting over 120,000 participants nationwide. Police initially described the protests as "very peaceful," but clashes erupted in the evening as masked groups threw fireworks, stones, and bottles at officers in cities including Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, and Berlin. Authorities responded with water cannons, pepper spray, and arrests.
In Frankfurt, rioters smashed shop windows, looted stores, and stole weapons from a gun shop, prompting police to deploy water cannons and special forces. Hessian Interior Minister Roman Poseck said around 100 violent left-wing extremists had infiltrated the crowd, forcing an early end to the demonstration. At least 27 police officers were injured nationwide, and 56 people were arrested, according to Berlin police.
The protests mirrored broader unrest in Europe, with over 320,000 people demonstrating in France on the same day, where police made more than 560 arrests. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez had warned of a "very high risk" of disorder, deploying 70,000 officers to prevent looting and violence.
Organizers of *Gen Z regelt* distanced themselves from the violence, emphasizing their commitment to peaceful protest and rejecting extremist groups. They announced plans for further actions on November 20 as part of a Europe-wide movement. Protesters carried signs with slogans like "Time for resistance" and "Merz must go," referencing German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, while others criticized military spending and social inequality.
Shop owners in several cities had boarded up windows in anticipation of unrest, and some demonstrations were canceled due to pyrotechnics and masked participants. In Cologne, police dissolved a march after fireworks were set off, later using water cannons to disperse crowds attempting to enter the city center. Similar scenes unfolded in Hamburg, where barricades were set alight near the main train station.
