More than 30 German cities witnessed protests today, Saturday, with over 160,000 participants, organized by the "Generation Regelt" movement to demand improved education, housing provision, enhanced climate protection, and to protest against cuts to social service spending and the arms race.
The German newspaper Bild reported that the protests saw tension in several cities, with masked protesters observed, fireworks and firecrackers set off, while police halted some demonstrations and carried out arrests. In Stuttgart, police stopped the protest after masked protesters appeared and threw smoke grenades and firecrackers, while in Hamburg, fireworks were set off, and police arrested two men in the Jungfernstieg-Neuer Wall area, one of whom was carrying a replica weapon.
In Berlin, around 5,000 people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate, with participants raising flags and signs against German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, while police noted the protest proceeded peacefully, with one person detained. In Cologne, thousands of protesters gathered, some covering their faces with scarves, prompting police to order them to remove them, while around 1,900 people participated in a protest in Erfurt, and around 230 in Rostock, where the protest proceeded peacefully.
Protest gatherings also took place in Hanover, where participants raised slogans against the government and Chancellor Merz, while around 3,000 people participated in a protest in Stuttgart. Several companies covered their shop fronts with compressed wood panels and ordinary wooden boards, fearing looting incidents similar to those recently witnessed in France.
The German protests come days after demonstrations began in several European cities, including Greece, France, Spain, Albania, Italy, and Belgium, in the wake of rising living costs and declining ability to bear the burdens of housing and education, alongside political and social demands that vary from country to country, with some protests turning into clashes with security forces and acts of vandalism and looting.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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