Tens of thousands of students and young people took to the streets across Germany on Saturday in a coordinated day of protests against compulsory military service, rising living costs and what organisers say is chronic underinvestment in education and social services.
The demonstrations, organised under the banner "Gen Z regelt" ("Generation Z Has the Say"), were planned in 34 cities nationwide, with organisers expecting participation of more than 165,000 people.
Protesters gathered in major city centres, including at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, calling for increased spending on education, social security, healthcare and climate action, while opposing proposals for compulsory military service.
The movement has urged participants to demonstrate peacefully and has explicitly rejected violence and extremist involvement.
According to organisers, extremist groups and unconstitutional symbols are not welcome at the rallies. Participants have also been advised not to carry glass objects or weapons and to avoid provoking police.
Shopkeepers concerned
Some shop owners in central districts of Berlin and other major cities boarded up storefronts and opted to remain closed, citing fears of damage. Youth protests in France earlier this month escalated into widespread unrest marked by looting and arson.
German authorities, however, said they had received no intelligence indicating calls for violence linked to Saturday's demonstrations.
A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said that "elements of the left-wing extremist scene as well as individual groups connected to extremism from abroad" had responded to calls to participate in the protests.
Organisers on Friday criticised the focus on possible disorder, arguing that it distracted attention from the issues they were seeking to highlight.
The movement, which says it was created only a few weeks ago, is coordinated by a central team of around 30 people. While it promotes demonstrations in 34 cities through its website, organisers say they are directly responsible for only four events: in Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt and Munich.
Police mounted extensive security operations across the country and warned that any acts of violence would not be tolerated.
Source: CNA
