The initiative “Gen Z regelt” (“Gen Z takes charge”) called Saturday for peaceful protests in more than 30 German cities. Thousands of young people gathered in the afternoon in Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Nuremberg, Dresden, Leipzig and other urban centres, dpa / Agerpres reported.

On the group’s website, more than 182,000 people had clicked that they would join by the 14:00 start; official turnout figures filed with cities were far lower. Organisers later spoke of tens of thousands after reports from a first set of cities; police in some places reported smaller numbers than the movement’s estimates.

Demonstrators want more funding for schools, addiction services and psychotherapy, measures against rising living costs, greater social justice and stricter greenhouse-gas rules. They oppose compulsory military service — amid talk of a possible reinstatement — and any expansion of state surveillance.

Many luxury-street retailers boarded up shop windows for fear of violence. The Interior Ministry said it had no further signs of calls to violence, but noted that “elements from the left-extremist scene” and some foreign-linked extremist groups had also answered the call. In some cities police deployed hundreds of officers and planned drone use.

In Hamburg, black-clad people — some masked — tore up barriers and set them alight near a subway station; police used irritant spray and a water cannon. In Cologne, the march was halted after fireworks and face coverings, continuing as a static rally; a water cannon was used there too. In other centres the protest stayed largely peaceful.

On Friday, Munich co-organisers complained that public debate focused on violence fears, not their demands. “Nobody wants to talk to us about the substance,” said co-organiser Steve. Hamburg’s flare-up and Cologne’s interventions show escalation risks remained real, even if the nationwide protests did not tip into a general crisis.

Source: Germany: Gen Z youth mobilise in more than 30 cities (Agerpres)