German politicians have strongly condemned the violent acts that broke out after demonstrations organized by the group “GenZ regelt!” (Gen Z has got this!) on Saturday. Boris Rhein, Minister-President of Hesse, described these “acts of violence” as “completely unacceptable” in a post on X. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, in an interview with the newspaper Bild, blamed the disturbances on “left-wing groups prone to violence and troublemakers from migrant communities”, although he considered these disturbances less serious than those that occurred in Paris.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of people took part in protests in various German cities, calling for attention to young people’s priorities, which include the cost of living, education expenses and budget cuts. These demonstrations were inspired by similar movements in France and Italy. On the fringes of the gatherings, masked hooligans looted shops in Frankfurt, while violence also erupted in large cities such as Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg. Police were forced to use water cannons against young people throwing Molotov cocktails.
Political reactions varied. Ines Schwerdtner, chair of the far-left party Die Linke, told Rheinische Post that the demands of those who “demonstrated peacefully will not disappear because of small groups of angry people who commit acts of vandalism”. On the other hand, Franziska Brantner, co-chair of the Greens, criticized the violence, stating that it “damaged the legitimate cause of many people who demonstrated peacefully”. The far-right party AfD blamed “left-wing extremism” and “uncontrolled migration” for the outbreak of violence. The “Gen Z regelt!” movement announced on its website that it is calling for new demonstrations on November 14, describing them as “only the beginning”.
Taken from France 24 Live News