German police were deployed across the country Saturday and shops boarded up their windows ahead of protests that are set to draw tens of thousands of young demonstrators onto the streets.
Protest organisers “GenZ regelt!” (Gen Z has got this!) expect more than 170,000 people to turn out in over 30 cities, including Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne.
The German demonstrations have been inspired by similar movements across Europe, including in France and Italy, which have seen young protesters voice anger at political elites whom they accuse of ignoring their concerns.
While “GenZ regelt!” stresses it rejects all violence, police are taking no chances and are deploying thousands of officers, while some luxury jewellery shops and clothing stores are boarding up their windows to ward off potential looters.
The protest movement’s complaints range from the high cost of living to poorly maintained schools, government spending cuts and, more broadly, what it sees as politicians making decisions with apparently little regard for the younger generation.
“The situation of young people is precarious, and yet they still aren’t being heard,” said Veronika Dinter, a spokeswoman for the movement.
“The institutions that are supposed to prepare young people for life are being starved of funds.”
They are also unhappy with sharply increased military spending and a new voluntary service model aimed at boosting troop numbers, fearing it is a step towards bringing back conscription.
Authorities are worried the protests, coinciding with Halloween, could be marred by the same kind of violence seen elsewhere in Europe.
Major protests are also expected in France on Saturday. Nationwide demonstrations there on October 17 degenerated into some of the country’s worst rioting in years.
Berlin is in contact with officials in France and Italy amid fears that radicals from overseas could seek to join the German protests.
But authorities say that they have not seen evidence of concrete plans for violence.
The “GenZ regelt!” movement meanwhile stresses that “extremist groups, anti-constitutional symbols, racism and hate speech have no place with us — no matter from which side”.
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