Frankfurt Gen Z protest ends in looting and police clashes after dispersal

The march and its dispersal

The protest on Saturday, 31 October, was called by the initiatives "Gen Z regelt" and "Generation Aufbruch", which demanded more investment in education and health and opposed the introduction of compulsory military service (Wehrpflicht). Earlier in the afternoon the march had remained largely peaceful, with police counting up to 8,000 participants at its peak, while the organisers spoke of around 9,000. The route started at the Weseler Werft in eastern Frankfurt, and the column wound for several hours through the city centre, with police halting it repeatedly when participants masked their faces or set off pyrotechnics. Around 18:20 police dissolved the demonstration after fireworks went off and stones were thrown at officers. The organisers also reported 10,000 participants in an Instagram post, a figure that differs from the police count.

Police, peak count8,000

Organisers' figure9,000

Organisers' Instagram post10,000

Police, peak count

8000 people

Organisers' figure

9000 people

Organisers' Instagram post

10000 people

Data from the article text

Looting and clashes in the city centre

About two hours after the dispersal, the Hauptwache, the Konstablerwache and the Zeil shopping street were cleared, while groups continued to clash with officers. Police said stones, fireworks and bottles were being thrown at them and that bins were set alight. Barricades and bins were overturned across the centre. According to police, shop windows were smashed and the first looting took place on the Zeil and in the nearby Hasengasse, including at a shoe shop. Reporters saw people entering shops and taking trainers and other items, and a weapons retailer was also attacked. Police also said Molotov cocktails were being thrown at officers, and reports said a weapon appeared to have been taken from a shop. A helicopter, drones, water cannon and armoured vehicles were deployed, and the federal police were on site as well.

Official response

Interior minister Roman Poseck (CDU) said on the evening of 31 October that he had repeatedly warned the protest could be infiltrated by left-extremist violence, and that this had come true.

“I have repeatedly pointed out that we have to expect left-extremist violent potential to mingle with this demonstration, and that is exactly what happened.”

Poseck put the number of violent offenders at about 100 people and said they had attacked the police in a coordinated way.

“We assume roughly 100 left-extremist motivated violent offenders. They attacked the police massively with bottles, stones and pyrotechnics.”

Police also linked clashes near the Bleichstraße to left-wing extremists, whom they held responsible for ending the march. The Hesse chairman of the Police union (Gewerkschaft der Polizei), Jens Mohrherr, said the assembly's turn away from peace had left no option but to disperse it.

“The rule of law had to act, and it did.”

Injuries and open questions

Police said several officers were hurt, and the minister said one of them may have been injured more seriously, a point that still required review. Information about injured demonstrators and about arrests was not yet known. The deployment could last into the night. Mubarik Sabir, a registrant of the demonstration for Generation Aufbruch, told hessenschau that he was deeply saddened and speechless. He added that the initiative had done everything to avoid such pictures.