OMM Newsroom
Tens of thousands of students are expected to protest across Germany on Saturday against social spending cuts and plans to revive military conscription, organizers said, according to Anadolu Agency.
The demonstrations are being organized by a new youth initiative, “Gen Z Regelt”, or “Gen Z handles it”. The group is also calling for increased education funding and measures to address the cost-of-living crisis.
Major marches are planned in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne, with protests scheduled in 29 other cities. Nearly 175,000 people have registered online to participate, the organizers said.
The initiative, made up of high school and university students, said on its website that it rejects violence and intends to hold peaceful marches.
It criticized cuts to social spending and the government’s handling of the climate crisis, and said young people’s concerns about wars and conflicts were not being addressed. The group also opposed plans to revive military conscription and called for greater investment in education.
Student groups raise concerns about the organizers
Although several youth groups initially backed the protests, some organizations distanced themselves from the call last week.
Germany’s largest student organization, BSK, and the Jusos, the youth wing of the center-left Social Democrats, cited a lack of transparency. They described the initiative as a loose, internet-based coalition, saying it was unclear who was behind the call and that organizers were difficult to reach ahead of local events.
Police prepare for possible unrest
Police said they would maintain a heavy presence in several cities ahead of Saturday’s demonstrations. Shop owners and boutique operators began boarding up their businesses, with several luxury stores in central Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne covered with wooden boards.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, police, the Interior Ministry and the domestic intelligence agency were placed on high alert.
About 44,000 people registered through the initiative’s website for demonstrations in the state, including in Cologne, Duesseldorf and Dortmund, according to the organizers.
North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul said demonstrations were legitimate but warned that authorities would not tolerate extremist groups exploiting them to commit violence.
“The images from France and Italy are shocking. Individual left-wing extremists apparently now want to mobilize here as well,” Reul told local media.
“Anyone who abuses protests in North Rhine-Westphalia to organize hate and chaos will encounter a police force that pushes back robustly. We will not accept a marauding mob destroying our cities,” he added.
