Mass demonstrations have been announced in Germany for October 31, organized by the initiative "Generation Z decides" (from German: Gen Z regelt). The protests, which involved tens of thousands of young people, began peacefully. However, in the evening and at night, violence and riots broke out in some cities - especially in Frankfurt am Main.
What happened in Frankfurt am Main?
The German public broadcaster ARD reports that several shops were robbed in the center of Frankfurt. The rioters, some of whom were wearing masks, smashed and kicked shop windows and threw signs and other objects at them. The damage was significant. Shoes and other items were stolen. A gun shop was also attacked - 30 people were temporarily arrested in this connection. After the police cordoned off an area in the city center, the situation calmed down.
Several shops were robbed in Frankfurt am MainPhoto: Andreas Arnold/dpa/picture alliance
It is obvious that the riots in the evening had no connection with the goals of the protest actions in the afternoon, writes ARD. According to a reporter for the media, the attacks in the center of Frankfurt were the work of "a group of perpetrators, whose real identities are still not entirely clear". They were probably not participants in the demonstration marches. The attacks were carried out by numerous small groups. This made it difficult for the police to control the situation.
According to the Frankfurt police, there had been clashes between police and demonstrators in the evening and night before the riots. Police were pelted with batons, stones and bottles, and several officers were injured, according to the Hesse interior ministry. "I have repeatedly said that we should expect left-wing extremists with violent tendencies to join this demonstration, and that is exactly what happened", said Hesse interior minister Roman Pozek last night. "We assume that there were around 100 violent people with left-wing extremist motives. They attacked the police, throwing bottles, stones and fireworks." Who later took part in the riots in the city center is still being investigated.
The organizers of the "Generation Z Decides" initiative had explicitly called for the protests to be held without any violence. However, reporters from several cities reported that extremists and hooligans had purposefully mixed in with the peaceful demonstrators. Before the evening riots, the organizers' assessment of the youth protests in the afternoon was positive. "We had no influence on what happened after the demonstrations ended," said a spokesman for the initiative, who only identifies himself publicly by his first name - Amadeo.
Riots also in Cologne. Calmer in Berlin.
Riots also broke out in Cologne in the evening - around the cathedral and the main station. According to reports by public broadcaster VDR, after the official end of the demonstration, groups other than the "Generation Z Decides" protesters also headed to the Südstadt district to cause unrest. Cologne Police Chief Johannes Hermans said that "it is sad that today extremists who had nothing but a desire for violence have infiltrated the protests of young people who wanted to peacefully demonstrate for their future." Riots broke out in other cities after peaceful rallies, including Hamburg.
Cologne also saw riots. Photo: Matthi Rosenkranz/dpa/picture alliance
In Berlin, the demonstration by the "Generation Z Decides" initiative, in which around 5,000 people took part, passed off "almost without incident". However, according to police, 27 police officers suffered minor injuries in clashes following the youth protests. Late in the evening, a police spokesman said that "numerous crimes" had been committed during a rally with up to 3,500 participants that began on Rosenthaler Square. These included damage to property, bodily harm and violations of the Weapons and Explosives Act. Jörn Ifflander, a spokesman for the Berlin police, told ARD that evening that although there had been unrest, "the scenes that were talked about beforehand - looting or massive clashes - did not occur here in this city".
Source: www.dw.com