Tens of thousands of young Germans joined youth-led protests across the country on Saturday, October 31, in demonstrations that were largely peaceful during the day before turning violent in several cities in the evening, with police using water cannon and pepper spray.
The protests were organised by the group “GenZ regelt!” (Gen Z has got this), a youth movement demanding better education funding, affordable living costs, climate action and an end to any return of compulsory military service. Demonstrators waved signs reading “Time for resistance” and “Merz must go”, referring to Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Police said the main protests themselves had been “very peaceful”. But as evening fell, some groups refused to disperse, and violence broke out in major cities including Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Berlin and Leipzig.
Frankfurt worst hit
It was especially bad in Frankfurt, where masked rioters looted shops and police faced protesters hurling stones, fireworks and petrol bombs, responding with water cannon and pepper spray. Police described “violent riots”, saying windows were smashed at several shops and Molotov cocktails thrown at emergency personnel.
A gun store was among the shops looted, its windows smashed. Police said they arrested a suspect and seized two weapons. A trainer shop and a perfume store were also targeted, according to the Bild daily. A large section of Frankfurt’s main shopping street was closed off, with police vans and riot police stopping anyone from entering, and a police helicopter overhead.
At least one police officer was injured in Frankfurt and was receiving medical treatment. Roman Poseck, interior minister of Hesse state, said that “around 100 clearly identified left-wing extremists” had infiltrated the protest in Frankfurt, adding: “It is shameful how this event here in Frankfurt has ended.”
Violence in other cities
Police also used water cannon in Hamburg and Cologne after they said demonstrators targeted emergency service workers with fireworks, stones and bottles. In Hamburg, two people were arrested, one of them carrying a fake firearm, and more than 10,000 people had marched earlier in the day.
In Berlin, a protest not organised by “GenZ regelt!” took place in the evening, with police reporting they were pelted with eggs and bottles. Police in Leipzig used pepper spray after protests turned violent, while an officer in Bonn suffered minor injuries during a confrontation. Police were reported to have made several arrests, but no national arrest total has been published.
How many took part
Turnout figures differ by source and are still being reconciled. “GenZ regelt!” said some 120,000 people took part in the demonstrations, according to the Straits Times, while a dpa-based report shortly before 8pm put the figure at more than 100,000 nationwide, with figures from six to eight cities still outstanding. Police city counts were lower: around 8,000 in Frankfurt, a peak of about 6,700 in Hamburg, 6,500 in Leipzig and about 5,000 in Berlin. Organisers had hoped for up to 170,000–182,000 nationwide.
The movement has explicitly rejected violence, and its spokesperson said what happened after the rallies ended was beyond its control. Organisers signalled further actions, including coordinated Europe-wide protests on November 20.
What this is — and is not
This is the outcome of the October 31 protests, distinct from the preview published before they took place. The daytime marches were peaceful; the violence came from smaller groups in the evening after the main rallies, and police said they intervened “very decisively and also forcefully” once it broke out. No verified national arrest total exists, so this article gives only the city-specific arrests that have been confirmed.
Related coverage on Emadan: Germany’s Gen Z Protests Set for 31 October: 150,000 Expected in Around 30 Cities as Police Brace for Halloween Rallies; France October 31 Protests: 320,000 March, 420 Arrested, Blockades Planned; France New Halloween Weekend Minors Curfew Paris Nice
Frequently asked questions
What is “GenZ regelt!”? A loosely organised German youth initiative calling for more investment in education, affordable living costs, climate action and an end to renewed conscription.
Were the protests violent? The main daytime marches were largely peaceful, according to police; violence broke out in the evening in several cities from smaller groups.
How many people took part? Organisers said 100,000–120,000 nationwide (counts still incomplete); police counts per city were lower, e.g. about 8,000 in Frankfurt and 5,000 in Berlin.
Sources: The Straits Times (AFP/Reuters), November 1; Dawn (AFP), November 1; Times of Israel (AFP), November 1; Axar.az citing dpa, October 31
