"Gen Z regelt" youth protests held in more than 30 German cities

On October 31, thousands of young people marched in more than 30 German cities at the call of the "Gen Z regelt" ("Gen Z sorts it") initiative. Protests took place in Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne, Hamburg, Mainz, Nuremberg, Erfurt, Magdeburg, Dresden and Leipzig, among others (tagesschau).

The organisers are calling for more money for schools, addiction services and psychotherapy, measures against the rising cost of living, social justice and stronger climate protection. They also oppose a return to conscription and any expansion of state surveillance (tagesschau, BR24).

Police estimated about 5,000 people at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, while organisers put the figure at 10,000. About 4,000 gathered outside Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. In Frankfurt, police counted 8,000 and organisers 9,000 (tagesschau, BR24, NZZ). More than 182,100 people had signed up on the initiative's website, but actual turnout was considerably lower.

Most protests started peacefully, but in some places police stopped marches over violations of the ban on face coverings, and pyrotechnics were set off at some rallies. In Munich, several hundred people stayed on the street after the demonstration was dissolved. In Berlin, a second march organised by a different group followed later in the day (taz).

Al Jazeera described Germany as the latest European country to be swept up in a wave of student protests. Many banners targeted Chancellor Friedrich Merz (NZZ).