German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has asked Family Minister Karen Prien to engage in dialogue with student organisations that took part in nationwide demonstrations on Saturday. Prien, a member of the Christian Democratic Union, has also been given responsibility for youth affairs and is expected to meet with groups representing students and young people, including the organising platform Gen Z Regelt.
The demonstrations were the first German mobilisation linked to a wider wave of youth protests in Europe calling for greater investment in education and measures to reduce the cost of living for younger people. Gen Z Regelt said that 120,000 people took part in protests across 30 cities, while police estimates put the number at roughly half that figure.
Merz praised what he described as the peaceful and civic nature of the demonstrations, saying that young people were sending a positive political message and showing concern for their future. At the same time, he warned that his government would adopt “zero tolerance” towards violence and vandalism.
Most of the protests ended without reported incidents. Clashes and property damage occurred later in the evening, after the official gatherings had concluded. Gen Z Regelt distanced itself from those actions. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt blamed what he called “left-wing extremists and migrants involved in vandalism”, prompting tensions within the governing coalition. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, a Social Democrat, criticised Dobrindt’s decision to single out people of foreign origin.
More than 200 people were arrested between Saturday night and Sunday morning in seven German cities. Frankfurt saw the most serious disturbances: more than 50 young people were detained, 100 police officers were injured, shop windows were smashed and several stores were looted. Police also stopped an attempt by masked people to take firearms from a gun shop and recovered the weapons.
The Hesse Interior Ministry said on Sunday that most of those arrested in Frankfurt were German citizens. The far-right Alternative for Germany has intensified its efforts to blame the foreign population for an alleged rise in instability and crime.
Gen Z Regelt has called another demonstration for 20 November. Authorities in Hesse, the state where Frankfurt is located, have warned that the event could be banned in the city. The platform’s representatives have so far remained anonymous.
Sources: El País Internacional.