FRANKFURT — Hooded rioters looted stores in Frankfurt late on Saturday after tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across Germany's biggest cities to demand better education and lower living costs, Reuters reported. In Frankfurt, Germany's financial hub, at least two stores were looted as the protests turned violent, with several more damaged and police trying to get the situation under control, according to a Reuters witness. It is a sharp escalation from the picture earlier on Saturday, when Awaaz Punjab reported the marches had been mostly peaceful, police had used water cannon in Cologne, and no major property damage had been reported.
Source: Reuters via The Business Standard, Nov 1, 2026
"Violent disturbances are continuing," Frankfurt police said on X. "In the city centre, windows have been smashed at several shops. Molotov cocktails are also being thrown at the emergency services. We urge all bystanders to avoid the city centre or to leave the area." According to AFP, masked rioters looted shops in Frankfurt while police used water cannons and pepper spray against demonstrators who threw stones, fireworks and petrol bombs at security personnel and emergency workers. A gun store was among the establishments targeted, its windows smashed; police arrested a suspect and seized two weapons. A trainer shop and a perfume store were also reportedly looted, according to the German daily Bild, and a large section of Frankfurt's main shopping street was closed as police vans and riot officers sealed the area under a hovering helicopter.
Source: AFP via Bytes Europe, Nov 1, 2026
At least one police officer was injured in Frankfurt and received medical treatment, and police also reported injuries to officers in other cities, AFP reported. In Hamburg, some barricades had been set on fire, Reuters reported, and police deployed water cannons in Hamburg and Cologne after demonstrators allegedly targeted emergency personnel with fireworks, stones and bottles. In Berlin, a separate evening protest that was not organised by the Gen Z regelt movement saw demonstrators throw eggs and bottles at police, and an officer in Bonn suffered minor injuries, according to AFP.
Authorities said extremist groups had tried to exploit the movement. Roman Poseck, interior minister of the state of Hesse, whose capital is Frankfurt, said around 100 identified left-wing extremists had joined the protest in Frankfurt. "It is shameful how this event here in Frankfurt has ended," Poseck said, according to AFP. Reuters reported that Germany's federal interior ministry had warned ahead of the demonstrations that parts of the far-left extremist scene and some groups linked to foreign extremist movements were joining efforts to mobilise support. The Gen Z regelt movement distanced itself from the violence, saying extremist groups, anti-constitutional symbols, racism and hate speech had no place in its demonstrations.
Source: AFP via Bytes Europe, Nov 1, 2026
The protests, organised by the campaign group "Gen Z regelt" — "Gen Z takes charge" — oppose compulsory military service and want greater investment in education, health and public services as young Germans struggle with rising costs, Reuters reported. "What matters most to us is better support for the health and education systems. We are against compulsory military service and we are in favour of a fairer distribution of the burden," spokesperson Lina Friedrich said in Berlin. Turnout figures remain disputed: organisers had expected about 182,000 people and later said around 120,000 participated nationwide, according to AFP, while police in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin reported as many as 18,000 protesters in those three cities — about half the roughly 36,000 listed on the organisers' website, Reuters reported. Germany's national school student umbrella organisation, BSK, has distanced itself from the campaign and plans a separate protest day on November 20.