Gen Z Protests Sweep Cities Across Germany (Photos)

<blockquote><b>What you need to know</b><br><br>Thousands of young people have joined protests across Germany, with demonstrations registered in 34 cities<br><br><b>Organizers said 120,000 took part, though the number has not been officially confirmed</b><br><br>Demonstrators demand better-funded schools, action on living costs, greater social justice and stronger climate protection, while opposing a possible return to military conscription<br><br>In Cologne, police canceled the planned march over covered faces and pyrotechnics; the gathering continued as a stationary rally on the Rhine riverbank<br><br>In Stuttgart, police repeatedly halted the march, citing covered faces, pyrotechnics and participants leaving the agreed route<br><br><b>Youth protests draw crowds across Germany</b><br><br><b>Youth protests draw crowds across Germany<br>Thousands of young people have joined the demonstrations in over 30 German cities, with police reporting largely peaceful protests.<br></b><br><br><b>Early police estimates included:</b><br><br>Berlin: Around 650 people gathered at the historic Brandenburg Gate<br><br>Frankfurt: More than 1,500 attended a rally near the European Central Bank.<br><br>Munich: Around 1,000 people attending the march<br><br>Mainz: Police counted around 1,200 participants, situation &quot;peaceful&quot;<br><br>Freiburg: Around 2,500 people attended, according to police.<br><br>Hundreds also gathered in Hamburg, Erfurt, Magdeburg, Dresden, Leipzig, Nuremberg, and elsehwere.<br><br><b>Retailers in several city centers had boarded up shop windows, particularly along luxury shopping streets, fearing unrest. Some shops were already closed for the Reformation Day public holiday.</b><br><br>No nationwide turnout figure was immediately available. More than 182,100 people had expressed interest in attending the events online.<br><br><b>Police say some 5,000 now gathered at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate</b><br><br>Following an initial estimate of several hundred people attending the rally in central Berlin, police said that some 5,000 people were now gathered at the Brandenburg Gate. <br><br>The organizers, &quot;Gen Z regelt&quot; (Gen Z sorts it) gave a much higher number, saying 10,000 people were in attendance.<br><br>One of the speakers in Berlin, Kaja Schwab, decried false promises made by politicians.<br><br><b>The youth is being told that &quot;we will do well if we work hard enough.&quot; In reality, the life is getting unaffordable and the young are &quot;forced into military service,&quot; she said, in reference to Germany's renewed recruitment drive.<br></b><br><br>German Gen Z protesters called out rising living expenses, remilitarization of Germany, and declining education.<br><br><b>Some of the protesters also called for Germany's current chancellor, center-right Friedrich Merz, to step down.</b><br><br>The protests were held under the slogan Gen Z regelt (Gen Z sorts it). <br><br>Police were out in force after many politicians warned that Germany will not tolerate the kind of violence seen in France in mid-October.<br><br><b>Police reported incidents in which pepper spray and water cannon were used to keep crowds under control, with protesters setting off fireworks and lighting fires.</b><br><br>But tensions remained high in some German cities with reports of several police officers injured.</blockquote><a rel=ugc href="https://www.dw.com/en/gen-z-protests-sweep-cities-across-germany/live-79814694">https://www.dw.com/en/gen-z-protests-sweep-cities-across-germany/live-79814694</a>