Demonstrations: Nationwide youth protests started in first cities

Young people want to take to the streets in more than 30 cities, and more than 182,000 people have confirmed their participation in the protests. It remains to be seen whether they will all come in the end.

Like here in Munich, young people want to demonstrate in around 30 cities nationwide. Photo: Peter Kneffel/dpa

Berlin. The nationwide youth protests have started in the first cities. In Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Mainz, Munich, Nuremberg, Erfurt, Magdeburg, Dresden and Leipzig, among others, several hundred people gathered for the start of the protest in the early afternoon.

The “Gen Z regulates” initiative has called for peaceful protests in more than 30 German cities. She calls for more money for schools, addiction help and psychotherapy, measures to combat rising living costs, for social justice and more climate protection. She rejects compulsory military service and the expansion of state surveillance.

It is unclear how many people will ultimately come to the registered demonstrations in 34 cities. On the “Gen Z regulates” homepage you could indicate that you wanted to be there with a simple click of the mouse. More than 182,100 people had done this by the time the protest began at 2 p.m. However, the expected number of participants officially registered in the cities is significantly lower.

Call for peaceful protest

The organizers of “Gen Z Rules” expressly call for peaceful protest and reject any form of violence. The federal security authorities recently had no further information about calls for violence or planned violent riots during the demonstrations. Youth protests, especially in France, resulted in riots involving violence, looting and arson.