Gen Z regelt protests in Germany draw fewer people than registered, with clashes with police

Turnout well below the registrations

More than 180,000 people had signed up for the nationwide Gen Z regelt protest day on Saturday, 31 October, with rallies planned in more than 30 German cities. The initiative put the number of participants across Germany at about 120,000, well below what it had expected. Police figures for individual cities were lower still: up to 8,000 in Frankfurt am Main, about 5,800 at the peak in Hannover, around 2,800 in Bremen and roughly 800 in Göttingen. In Berlin, police counted about 5,000 people at the Brandenburg Gate, while the initiative spoke of 10,000. Education and protest researcher Nina Kolleck, who was at the Brandenburg Gate, said many older people had backed their children, but she suspected that fear of violence and the decision of the Bundesschüler*innenkonferenz not to mobilise for the protests kept many people away.

Frankfurt am Main (up to)8,000

Hannover (peak)5,800

Berlin (Brandenburg Gate)5,000

Bremen2,800

Göttingen800

Frankfurt am Main (up to)

8000 people

Hannover (peak)

5800 people

Berlin (Brandenburg Gate)

5000 people

Bremen

2800 people

Göttingen

800 people

Data from the article text

Calm rallies, violence after the events

Police described the rallies themselves as largely peaceful, but incidents came during or after the official programme in several cities. In Hannover, two officers were hit with firecrackers after the march and one was slightly injured, while police said protesters had repeatedly covered their faces in breach of the ban on face coverings. In Bremen, officers who tried to establish the identity of some people were kicked and punched, a rubbish bin was set alight in the city centre, and one officer was slightly injured. In Hamburg, police ended the demonstration after clashes on Steindamm in St. Georg, where firecrackers, stones and construction fencing were thrown at officers. Police said they used direct force, including a water cannon, to support the clearance. In Berlin, eggs and bottles were thrown at a separate rally of more than 500 people that the initiative had not organised, and police later spoke of illegal use of pyrotechnics.

Frankfurt, Cologne and smaller incidents

In Frankfurt, police said protesters threw firecrackers and stones at officers, prompting the use of water cannon and a police helicopter in the evening. At least one officer was injured and needed medical treatment, and Hesse's Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) said in first findings that several officers had been hurt. The march in Frankfurt was halted several times because participants masked their faces and lit smoke canisters, and the situation escalated overnight in parts of the city centre. In Cologne, police used water cannon after officers were hit with pyrotechnics, and a rally with several thousand participants ended early because of individual disruptions. In Karlsruhe, an officer suffered acoustic trauma after firecrackers went off in a crowd, and police dispersed it with horses. In Bonn, one officer was slightly injured in a scuffle with a group.

Police and organisers take stock

The police union Gewerkschaft der Polizei gave a mixed assessment. Andreas Roßkopf, chair of its federal police section, told the Rheinische Post that the protests had proved very peaceful, but that the situation in some cities worsened after the official events ended.

“The Gen Z protests turned out to be very peaceful.”

Roßkopf attributed the violence to autonomous groups, some of whose members were masked, and said police had intervened consistently and massively where necessary. Amadeo, who speaks for the initiative's press team and gave only his first name, told dpa that a hundred thousand people had shown what they were protesting for. He said the initiative wanted to mobilise young people again, with the European protests on 20 November as its next target.

“For us this is only the first step.”

France on the same day

In France, 320,000 people joined marches, 70,000 of them in Paris. The Interior Ministry reported 511 arrests by 20:00, and security forces used tear gas in Paris and Lyon. German police reported that the day in Germany stayed quiet for longer in the evening than in France.

Germany (initiative figure)120,000

France (nationwide)320,000

Paris70,000

Germany (initiative figure)

120000 people

France (nationwide)

320000 people

Paris

70000 people

Data from the article text