Germany youth protests largely peaceful before evening violence erupts

Tens of thousands of young people demonstrated across Germany on October 31 and November 1 under the banner “Gen Z regelt”, demanding better schools, help with rising living costs and greater social justice. The protests were mostly peaceful during the day, but serious disturbances later overshadowed the nationwide mobilization. The most severe violence was reported in Frankfurt, where police shut the Die Zeil shopping street after demonstrators and other groups smashed shop windows, looted stores and attacked officers.

DW reported that dpa journalists saw people stealing trainers and other goods, while a specialist firearms shop was also targeted. Hesse Interior Minister Roman Poseck said more than 100 officers were injured, one seriously, and that 17 stores had been damaged and five looted. Police detained 54 people, aged between 13 and 29, after deploying up to 1,300 officers during Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

Poseck estimated that 1,000 to 1,500 violent troublemakers were among more than 8,000 participants in Frankfurt. He attributed the violence to left-wing extremists and young people he said were “mostly from migrant backgrounds”. However, the minister also said German citizens made up the clear majority of those detained, a distinction that underscores the uncertainty surrounding the composition of the wider group involved.

Cologne also saw clashes near the cathedral, where about 200 people were involved in disturbances, according to police. Officers were hit by bottles and bicycles, one person was injured, and a window was broken by an electric scooter. Police used a water cannon after some protesters covered their faces and set off pyrotechnics.

Cologne police chief Johannes Hermanns said peaceful demonstrations had been overshadowed by people who had come intending violence. Regional broadcaster WDR reported that groups other than Gen Z demonstrators were involved. State Interior Minister Herbert Reul similarly said left-wing extremists had hijacked the protest, arguing that attacks on police did not represent a political agenda.

In Hamburg, protesters at Steintor square threw fireworks at police, who used immediate force and a water cannon to clear the area. Minor incidents were also reported in Bremen and Bonn, where an officer sustained light injuries during a confrontation. Berlin authorities separately reported a crowd that grew from about 500 to 3,000 people.

Police initially described isolated egg- and bottle-throwing before reporting illegal pyrotechnics and injuries to officers after a clash. The senior police union representative Andreas Rosskopf nevertheless told the Rheinische Post that the protests had been “very peaceful” overall and that there had been no widespread property damage so far. Authorities and police representatives therefore gave differing emphasis to the weekend: the demonstrations drew a large youth turnout and were largely orderly, but concentrated nighttime violence produced substantial injuries and damage in several cities.

Rosskopf said some people involved acted independently and were masked, while officials continued investigating who organized or participated in the disturbances.