Cost-of-living protests turn into riots in Frankfurt
Youth-led demonstrations against the rising cost of living in Germany on 31 October turned into unrest and looting in Frankfurt. Violence also flared in other cities, and police used water cannon.
Large protests against the rising cost of living in Frankfurt, Germany's financial centre, descended into rioting on the evening of 31 October, with looters targeting shops in the city centre, the BBC reported. The demonstrations were organised by the campaign coalition "Gen Z regelt", which opposes underfunding of schools and military service. The events matter because they follow a wave of youth-led protests across Europe that had already reached France.
Unrest in several cities
Earlier in the day, thousands of people joined what were largely peaceful demonstrations. Participants pointed to a lack of school funding, growing living costs, inadequate budgets for public services and military service.
In the evening, Frankfurt police reported violent disorder in the centre and sent special units to regain control. Windows were smashed at several shops, and Molotov cocktails were thrown at emergency workers. Overnight into Sunday, police closed off the city's main shopping street, and a police spokesperson said many arrests had been made. Violence also broke out in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg, where police used water cannon against protesters who attacked emergency personnel with fireworks, stones and bottles.
Turnout and reactions
Authorities in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin reported about 18,000 protesters, roughly half the number organisers had forecast on their website. Lina Friedrich, a spokeswoman for "Gen Z regelt", stressed that the demonstrations were about peace and freedom, not war and subjugation. She said the group wants better support for healthcare and education, opposes compulsory military service and favours a fairer distribution of burdens.
Roman Poseck, interior minister of Hesse, the state where Frankfurt is located, said about 100 left-wing radicals had been identified among the protesters and called the way the protests unfolded disgraceful. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told the newspaper Bild on 1 November that police had managed to prevent the kind of violent outbreaks seen in France in previous weeks, and called for harsh punishment of rioters and looters.
In France, similar demonstrations on 31 October drew more than 320,000 participants. Protests also took place in other European countries over the weekend.
