The key facts

  • The rallies took place on October 31 in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, Frankfurt and Stuttgart; in Berlin and Cologne, about 15,000 people attended each.
  • In Hamburg, protesters threw fireworks at police and set fire to barricades; police used pepper spray, and in Cologne a water cannon.
  • The organizers were the groups 'Gen Z regelt' and 'Gen Z steht auf'.

Protests in six cities

On October 31, protest actions took place in Germany, organized by Gen Z groups 'Gen Z regelt' ('Generation Z will sort it out') and 'Gen Z steht auf' ('Generation Z rises up'). The demonstrations began in the daytime in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, Frankfurt and Stuttgart; according to Gazeta.Ru, citing Hamburger Morgenpost, about 15,000 people gathered at each of the rallies in Berlin and Cologne. The activists are protesting against cuts in school funding, the rising cost of living, high rents, as well as against the possible return of compulsory military service.

Escalation in Hamburg and Cologne

In Hamburg, protesters began throwing fireworks at police officers and setting fire to barricades made of construction materials; the police had to push the protesters back and use pepper spray. In Cologne, where the situation also escalated, law enforcement dispersed the most aggressive participants of the rallies with a water cannon.

Background in Berlin

The escalation on October 31 was preceded by earlier actions: on October 29, students in Berlin blocked the entrance to a university — as reported by Gazeta.press. Thus, the university blockade became part of a growing wave of protest actions, which on October 31 escalated into mass street rallies in six cities at once.