KABUL (Pajhwok): Hooded individuals looted storesin Frankfurt after thousands of people took to the streets in 34 German cities, including Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt, demanding better education, lower living costs and an end to compulsory military service.
According to Reuters, the demonstrations on Saturday were organised by the campaign group “Gen Z regelt” (Gen Z takes charge), which opposes compulsory military service and calls for greater investment in education amid rising living costs.
In Frankfurt, Germany’s financial hub, at least two shops were looted and several others damaged as protests turned violent, according to a Reuters witness.
Frankfurt police said violent disturbances were continuing, adding that shop windows had been smashed and Molotov cocktails thrown at emergency services. They urged people to avoid the city centre or leave the area.
Police in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin reported up to 18,000 protesters, while organisers had initially expected 182,000 participants. The organisers’ website had listed approximately 36,000 expected participants.
German authorities said the demonstrations, which coincided with Halloween celebrations, had been largely peaceful, but warned that extremist groups could exploit the movement.
In Hamburg, several barricades were set on fire.
“We are here today to fight for peace and freedom, rather than for war and coercion,” Gen Z regeltspokesperson Lina Friedrich said in Berlin.
She said the group wanted better support for the healthcare and education systems, opposed compulsory military service and called for a fairer distribution of social responsibilities.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Federal Interior Ministry said sections of the far-left extremist scene and some groups linked to foreign extremist movements had sought to mobilise support for the protests.
Roman Poseck, interior minister of the state of Hesse, warned against similar unrest in Germany, referring to looting, arson and attacks on police officers in France.
“France must not be held up as a model in this regard,” he said.
Ahead of the demonstrations, several businesses in German cities, including shops along Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm shopping boulevard, boarded up their windows and planned early closures over fears of unrest.
The organisers said younger generations were facing growing economic and social pressures in Europe’s largest economy.
An 18-year-old named Steve, who was due to speak at a rally in Munich, criticised Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government for failing to address young people’s concerns.
“The government has offered no response to our concerns other than to continue making cuts and piling further burdens upon us,” he said.
Germany has struggled to revive economic growth and faces increasing pressure on its pension system and public services as the baby-boomer generation retires and the working-age population declines.
However, questions have been raised about the campaign’s leadership and whether it is genuinely youth-led, given the involvement of various political and civil society groups.
Germany’s national school student umbrella organisation, BSK, has distanced itself from the initiative and plans to hold a separate day of protests on November 20.
Sean Baker, a student at the Technical University of Berlin, said he would join the demonstrations to highlight the poor condition of university buildings.
He said some campus facilities looked like abandoned buildings, despite students being expected to study there regularly.
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