Shops looted as German cost of living protests turn violent
Police in Frankfurt say "violent riots" took place in the city centre, with unrest also reported in Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.
Shops were looted as cost-of-living protests in Germany turned violent
Rioters looted stores in central Frankfurt late on Saturday, and clashes broke out with police there and in other German cities after mostly peaceful mass demonstrations over the cost of living.
In addition to Frankfurt, Germany’s financial center, there were incidents of violence in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg, with police saying they used water cannon to break up protesters who attacked emergency workers with fireworks, stones and bottles.
Thousands had earlier taken part in the rallies organized by the campaign group Gen Z regelt — meaning “Gen Z takes charge” — to protest underfunding in schools, the high cost of living, cuts to public spending and military service.
The disorder in Germany comes after similar youth-led mass protests in France, where more than 320,000 people also demonstrated on Saturday.
Police closed off a large part of Frankfurt’s main shopping street, AFP news agency reported. A police spokesperson said many arrests were made in the city.
Authorities in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin reported up to 18,000 protesters, about half the number organizers had estimated on their website.
Gen Z regelt spokesperson Lina Friedrich said the demonstrations were “to fight for peace and freedom, rather than for war and coercion”.
She said: “What matters most to us is better support for the health and education systems. We are against compulsory military service and we are in favour of a fairer distribution of the burden.”
Although the daytime protests were largely peaceful, the demonstrations became violent after dark.
In a post on X, Frankfurt police said “violent riots” were taking place in the city centre. Police said the windows of several shops were smashed and molotov cocktails were thrown at emergency services.
In later updates, officials said the windows of a gun shop were smashed and that two weapons were seized after a suspect was arrested.
Roman Poseck, interior minister of Hesse state, of which Frankfurt is the capital, said that “around 100 clearly identified left-wing extremists” had infiltrated the protest in the city. He added that it was “shameful” how the protests had ended.
Poseck said: “We all have those images from France in our minds – looting, burning houses, burning police vehicles, and attacks on police officers... France must not be held up as a model in this regard.”