Gen Z protests turn violent in Frankfurt, Cologne and Berlin

Thousands of young people took to the streets in Germany for Gen Z protests that began peacefully but turned violent in the evening. In Frankfurt, police deployed water cannons against masked participants who threw firecrackers and stones, while looters broke into shops and stole sneakers and other goods. Officers also attacked a gun store and seized two weapons, though the type was not disclosed. The Zeil shopping street was closed to the public.

In Cologne, police pushed back a hard core of demonstrators near the cathedral and main station. Bottles and bicycles were thrown at officers, and one person was injured when an e-scooter smashed a shop window. Five people were taken into custody as reinforcements were deployed.

“Somewhere the anger has to go.”

In Berlin, about 3,500 demonstrators marched from Rosenthaler Platz after a separately registered evening protest. Twenty-seven police officers suffered minor injuries but remained on duty, and 56 people were arrested for offenses including assault, resistance, explosives-law violations and property damage. Five hundred marchers joined later from the Brandenburg Gate area.

Authorities said dozens of criminal offenses were recorded across the events. In Stuttgart, two police officers were injured when bottles and pyrotechnics were thrown at them, and several suspects were provisionally arrested. Police remained on site with strong forces after the official end of the Stuttgart rally.

The Frankfurt police stated that the feared major riots had not yet occurred, though the situation remained unclear. In Cologne, a police spokeswoman described the situation as dynamic. Berlin police reported that the march grew increasingly aggressive as the evening progressed.

Organizers of the afternoon rally at the Brandenburg Gate had called for the protest under the slogan "Gen Z regelt." A separate evening march was registered by a private individual assigned by Berlin police to the left-wing scene.