Germany's Gen Z protests turn to looting in Frankfurt as unrest spreads to Switzerland

Germany's "Gen Z regelt" youth protests on Saturday were largely peaceful during the day but turned into rioting and looting in several cities after dark.

Frankfurt: shops looted, gun shop attacked

About 8,000 people, according to police, demonstrated mostly peacefully in Frankfurt; organisers put the figure at 10,000. After the rally broke up, rioters smashed shop windows and looted stores on the Zeil, the city's main shopping street. Tagesschau and Hessenschau report that a gun shop was attacked; police seized two weapons at the scene and arrested several people. In total, police made more than 30 temporary arrests and deployed over 1,000 officers, water cannon, armoured vehicles, a helicopter and drones. The situation calmed around 3 a.m., but police said property damage was considerable.

Clashes in Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne

According to Euronews, 27 police officers suffered minor injuries and almost 60 people were arrested at a Berlin march of around 3,500 people. In Hamburg, rioters built burning barricades and threw stones, bottles and fireworks at officers, and around 120 people were taken into temporary custody. In Cologne, police used water cannon after officers were attacked when a rally was ended at about 4 p.m.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt blamed "left-wing groups and troublemakers from a migrant background" and called for harsh penalties. The "Gen Z regelt" initiative said it "had no influence on what happened after the rallies ended", distanced itself from all violence and said it would join Europe-wide protests on November 20.

Unrest in Switzerland

In Zurich and Basel, groups of young people reportedly put up barricades, set fires and smashed shop windows, and a teenager was seriously injured.

The protesters are campaigning against underfunded schools, the rising cost of living, public spending cuts and military service. See our earlier report.

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