Gen Z protests turn violent in Frankfurt and Berlin, France draws 320,000

Protests spread across Germany

Demonstrations organised by the group Gen Z regelt, which translates as Gen Z takes charge, took place on Saturday, 31 October in more than 30 German cities, by some counts 34, including Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. Participants objected to compulsory military service and called for more spending on education, relief from the cost of living, stronger climate protection and easier access to psychotherapy and addiction treatment. Organisers put nationwide turnout at about 120,000, while police in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin counted 18,000 people, roughly half of the 36,000 the organisers listed for those three cities on their website. The marches began peacefully in the early afternoon.

Spokeswoman Lina Friedrich said in Berlin on Saturday what the movement stood for.

“We are here today to fight for peace and freedom, rather than for war and coercion.”

Frankfurt riot

The Frankfurt assembly began with about 2,500 people, and police later put the crowd at up to 8,000, while organisers said about 9,000. Repeated attacks followed, with fireworks, stones, bottles and firecrackers thrown at officers. Police used a water cannon and dissolved the assembly around 18:20, and most peaceful participants left the centre. Frankfurt police wrote on X that violence was continuing.

“Violent disturbances are continuing.”

Late in the evening, masked attackers smashed shop windows along the Zeil, one of Germany's busiest shopping streets, and carried goods out of stores. A gun shop was attacked, and police secured it, seized two weapons and detained several people. Molotov cocktails were thrown at officers, bins were set alight and barriers were overturned. Police closed part of the city centre and deployed the SEK special unit, and more than 30 people were detained in Frankfurt. A man dressed as Batman was among those arrested, and several officers were hurt.

Hesse interior minister Roman Poseck said about 100 violence-prone left-wing extremists were among the demonstrators, and police checked the documents of a similar number of people. Hesse premier Boris Rhein said those who behaved like the attackers in Frankfurt city centre placed themselves outside society, and that authorities would analyse the actions and the composition of the groups involved.

Berlin, Cologne and France

In Berlin, 27 police officers were injured and 56 people were detained for offences. One of two large Berlin actions drew about 3,500 people, mostly from left-radical groups, and some participants threw firecrackers and launched fireworks at officers. In Cologne, police banned a march because it violated the law. Similar incidents were reported in Hamburg.

In France, the interior ministry counted about 320,000 people at protests in around 30 cities on Saturday, 31 October, the third consecutive weekend of demonstrations there. Student unions claimed half a million and the CGT union up to 800,000. In Paris, police counted 70,000 people against 200,000 claimed by organisers. Four police officers and one gendarme were injured in Paris after an incendiary device was thrown at security forces, and police responded with tear gas and baton charges.

Interior ministry320,000

Student unions500,000

CGT union800,000

Interior ministry

320000 people

Student unions

500000 people

CGT union

800000 people

Data from the article text

The French protests began in late September, when secondary and university students denounced the decline of public schools and universities. They later grew to include rising prices, purchasing power and the quality of public services.

Official reaction

Federal interior minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Sunday, 1 November that the strategy of Germany's security forces had proved effective. Authorities said the demonstrations had been largely peaceful but warned that extremist groups were trying to exploit the movement. The Gen Z regelt campaign said in a statement that it opposes all violence, and Lina Friedrich repeated that its priority is better support for health and education systems.