The key facts

  • On November 8 in Dortmund, a 'doner for €1' promotion drew about 300 teenagers, and the shop was attempted to be stormed
  • Security failed to cope; police were pelted with stones, chairs, e-scooters and pyrotechnics
  • A signal pistol was confiscated from one of the participants

What happened in Dortmund

A promotional campaign for the opening of a new snack bar in Dortmund (North Rhine-Westphalia) ended in riots and clashes with police. This was reported on the city police website. The kebab shop owner announced on social media that on Sunday, November 8, a doner kebab would cost just €1 — while the average price in the region is €7.5.

The queue, the storming and the attack on police officers

Even before the establishment opened, a queue of about 300 teenagers gathered at its doors, and after the opening, the shop was attempted to be stormed. Employees of a private security company tried to maintain order, but they failed, and the owner had to call the police. Law enforcement officers urged the crowd to keep order through a loudspeaker, after which the officers were attacked: they were pelted with stones, chairs, e-scooters and pyrotechnics. The situation was only resolved with the arrival of reinforcements. One person refused to leave the scene — his documents were checked and a signal pistol was confiscated from him.

Context around the doner

Gazeta.Ru, in its article about the incident, recalls two doner-related news stories: earlier, Turkey withdrew from a legal dispute with Germany over registering the doner kebab as traditional Turkish food, which effectively makes Germany the winning party, and before that, Turkey introduced new rules for preparing doners. These events are not directly related to the riots in Dortmund — the editorial board cites them as background around the topic of the doner.