After France, Germany is also in turmoil, massive looting and violence in many cities including Berlin, 27 policemen injured, many in custody.

Amid youth protests in many European countries, violence has now erupted in Germany as well. Late Saturday night, miscreants looted and ransacked shops in Germany’s financial center of Frankfurt. There were also clashes between protesters and police in several cities, including Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg. Police said water cannons were used to disperse protesters who threw firecrackers, stones and bottles at emergency service personnel. 27 policemen were injured in the violence of the demonstrators, while hundreds were detained.

Thousands of people took part in mostly peaceful demonstrations during the day. The demonstrations were organized by the campaign group ‘Gen Z Regalt’, which means ‘Gen Z took charge’. Protesters took to the streets to protest against funding shortages in schools, rising costs of living, government spending cuts and compulsory military service.

Violent demonstrations in France-Portugal

The unrest in Germany followed large youth-led protests in France. More than 3.20 lakh people demonstrated in France too on Saturday. He raised his voice against rising inflation and the poor state of government services, especially the education sector.

Thousands of policemen were deployed across France to monitor the demonstrations. In some cities, police fired tear gas shells at demonstrators. More than 770 people were arrested during Saturday’s protests, according to France’s interior ministry. This was about half the number of people arrested in last week’s protests.

Violence continues in many European countries

There were also protests in Italy. Police and protesters clashed in Rome and Turin. At the same time, police in Portugal took action to remove a new tent camp. The camp was formed after thousands of people marched against the rent bill. Opponents say this could worsen the country’s housing crisis. House prices in Portugal have more than doubled in the last ten years.

In recent days, youth protesters have taken to the streets in several European countries, including France, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Serbia and Albania. Their demands may vary from country to country, but issues such as the rising cost of living, lack of affordable housing, quality of education and cuts to government services have been central to most protests.

Now violence has broken out in Germany too

On Sunday, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrind told Bild newspaper that overnight police prevented the kind of violence seen in recent weeks in Paris. He also demanded strict punishment against rioters and looters.

In Frankfurt, much of the city’s main shopping street was closed off by police overnight. A police spokesman said several people have been arrested in the city. Officials in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin reported the participation of more than 18,000 protesters. According to German media, thousands of people demonstrated in different cities of the country on Saturday.

Lena Frederick, spokeswoman for Gen Z Regelt, said the demonstrations were for peace and freedom, not war and coercion. He said that providing better support to the health and education systems is most important. The organization is against compulsory military service and wants responsibilities to be shared fairly.

Violent clashes in Frankfurt

On Saturday night, Frankfurt police said violent riots were taking place in the center of the city. Special police forces were deployed to control the situation. Several shop windows were broken and Molotov cocktails were thrown at emergency services, according to police.

The gun shop’s windows were also broken, officials said. A suspect was arrested in this case and two weapons were seized from him. The miscreants also ransacked other shops and stole several items, including trainers.

Hesse state Interior Minister Roman Posek said about 100 left-wing extremists had been identified who had joined the demonstration. Frankfurt is the largest city in the state of Hesse. Posek said it was shameful the way the demonstrations turned into violence and looting. Referring to the violence in France, he said incidents such as looting, burning of houses and police vehicles and attacks on police officers should not be considered examples under any circumstances. According to the police, the situation in the city had calmed down by Sunday night.

Many cities in Germany are in the grip of violence

Other cities in Germany have also seen incidents of violence following peaceful protests. Police in Cologne said officers were attacked and bottles were thrown at them near the main railway station.

According to Berlin police, 27 police officers were injured during a smaller demonstration in the evening after larger demonstrations during the day. Meanwhile, 56 people were detained for some time. At the same time, in Hamburg, people wore black-burning firecrackers and set fire to barricades. Police arrested 120 people here. Thus, the protests in Germany turned violent on Saturday amid large protests in many other European countries.