German youth group calls protests in 21 cities amid warnings over unrest

A German youth initiative has called for demonstrations in 21 cities on October 31, bringing together complaints about education, public spending, living costs, social inequality, military conscription and climate change. Thousands are expected to attend events in cities including Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg and Munich. The campaign, named “Gen Z regelt,” or “Gen Z’s Got It,” says it is responding to what it describes as broken schools and austerity.

Its agenda extends beyond education to wider concerns about the cost of living and public services, along with opposition to compulsory military service and demands for action on climate change. The planned mobilisation follows violent demonstrations in France that began with student anger over the school system and high prices before drawing in unions, organisations and other participants. Those protests escalated into looting, property destruction and confrontations with police, prompting concerns in Germany that a similar movement could be diverted from its original aims.

Gen Z regelt’s website explicitly says the initiative is against violence directed at people or property. That position distinguishes the organisers’ stated intentions from the disorder seen in France, Italy and Spain, images of which have circulated widely and influenced the response of German officials and police. Police in Germany said they were both vigilant and relaxed.

Authorities indicated that they would protect the right to assemble and express political views, while preparing for the possibility that individuals or groups could attempt to exploit the events. The reports did not provide projected attendance figures for individual cities or details of specific police deployments. Andreas Roßkopf, head of the German Federal Police trade union, told the Rheinische Post that state and federal police would respond firmly and decisively to riots.

He warned that radicals or extremists might join otherwise peaceful demonstrations in order to attack police officers or cause destruction. The warning reflects a central tension surrounding the planned rallies: organisers are presenting them as a peaceful youth response to social and political frustrations, while law-enforcement officials are focused on preventing a repeat of violence witnessed elsewhere. The reports do not indicate that Gen Z regelt itself advocates disorder or that violence has occurred at its German events.

The demonstrations are due to take place on a Saturday across a broad geographical spread, including Germany’s largest cities. Their programme combines immediate economic and education concerns with longer-term disputes over climate policy and defence obligations. Whether the protests remain focused on those issues, and whether other groups join them, will become clearer when the events take place.