Masked rioters looted shops in Frankfurt on Saturday evening, AFP reported. Protesters in the financial hub threw stones, fireworks and petrol bombs. Police responded with water cannon and pepper spray. A large section of the city's main shopping street was sealed off, and a police helicopter circled overhead.
Police said in a statement that "violent riots" were under way. Shop windows were smashed and Molotov cocktails were thrown at emergency staff. A gun store was among the shops looted. Police said they arrested a suspect and seized two weapons. The Bild daily reported that a trainer shop and a perfume store were also targeted. At least one officer was injured in Frankfurt.
Hesse state interior minister Roman Poseck said that "around 100 clearly identified left-wing extremists" had infiltrated the Frankfurt protest. He called the way the event ended shameful. Police also used water cannon in Hamburg and Cologne after demonstrators threw fireworks, stones and bottles at emergency workers. In Berlin, police said they were pelted with eggs and bottles at an evening protest not organised by the main movement. An officer in Bonn suffered minor injuries. Police reportedly arrested large numbers of rioters.
The protests were organised by the group "GenZ regelt!" (Gen Z has got this!). The group said some 120,000 people took part, below the 180,000 it had expected. During the day, the mood was largely festive. Some marchers wore Halloween costumes. They carried signs reading "Time for resistance" and "Merz must go", a reference to Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The movement's complaints include the high cost of living, poorly maintained schools and government spending cuts. It also opposes sharply higher military spending and a new voluntary service model to boost troop numbers. Protesters fear the model is a step towards bringing back conscription. A 20-year-old student in Berlin told AFP that she wanted to show solidarity with protests across Europe, including in France.
According to AFP, the German protests were inspired by similar movements in France and Italy. France saw protests for a third straight weekend on Saturday, with clashes in Paris and elsewhere. Nationwide demonstrations there on October 17 turned into some of France's worst rioting in years. Berlin has been in contact with French and Italian officials over fears that radicals from abroad could join the German protests. It said that extremist groups, racism and hate speech had no place in Germany, "no matter from which side".