Germany got its own version of the youth revolt that has been rattling France and Italy this autumn. On Saturday a loose network calling itself “Gen Z regelt”, roughly “Gen Z has got this”, staged rallies in more than 30 cities. Organisers counted about 120,000 people, short of the 160,000 they had hoped for; police did not publish a national figure, and local estimates often came in lower.
The wish list is long. Young marchers want more money for schools, addiction services and therapy, relief from rising living costs, fairer social policies and stronger climate action. They also reject any return of compulsory military service and oppose wider state surveillance. A spokeswoman told German public radio beforehand that her generation feels politicians simply are not listening.
Until late afternoon, there was little to report beyond chanting and banners. Trouble began after the official events wound down. In Frankfurt, officers broke up a march of several thousand after being targeted with firecrackers and stones, and Hesse’s interior minister Roman Poseck blamed around 100 people for the attacks that left several police injured. Cologne police had already banned a planned procession because some participants were masked and lighting flares; in the evening two water cannon were used to push back a group of several hundred, and one man was arrested on suspicion of serious public order offences.
Hamburg reported burning barricades, Bremen a blazing rubbish bin, and Leipzig police resorted to pepper spray. In Berlin, an evening march of about 3,000 that was not part of the official programme was halted early after stones were thrown.
A police union official, Andreas Rosskopf, said the violence came from autonomous, partly masked groups rather than the young people who had organised the day. The initiative had called for strictly peaceful protest.
