Gen Z protests spread to Germany, with over 160,000 expected at Halloween rallies

BERLIN: More than 160,000 people are expected to take part in demonstrations across Germany on Saturday, as a youth-led movement inspired by protests elsewhere in Europe calls for better education, lower living costs and an end to compulsory military service.

The demonstrations, organised by campaign group Gen Z regelt, are planned in 34 cities, including Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. Organisers say the movement aims to draw attention to the challenges facing young people, particularly rising living costs and the need for greater investment in education.

The rallies mark the latest expansion of a wave of Gen Z-led protests that have swept across Europe this year. In Serbia, student-led activism helped bring down the country’s long-time leader through the ballot box, while demonstrations in France have at times escalated into rioting and looting.

German authorities expect Saturday’s demonstrations, which coincide with Halloween celebrations, to remain largely peaceful. However, they have warned that extremist groups could attempt to exploit the movement.

The protests reflect growing youth frustration over economic pressures, education and government policies, with organisers seeking to turn that discontent into a nationwide show of support.

Parts of Germany’s far-left extremist scene and some groups linked to foreign extremist movements have joined efforts to mobilise support, according to the federal interior ministry.

“We all have those images from France in our minds, looting, burning houses, burning police vehicles, and attacks on police officers,” said Roman Poseck, interior minister for the state of Hesse, whose capital is Germany’s financial hub, Frankfurt.

“France must not be held up as a model in this regard,” he added.

In Berlin, some businesses along the luxury Kurfuerstendamm shopping boulevard boarded up windows and planned early closures ahead of the demonstrations amid concerns about possible unrest.

Gen Z takes charge

For organisers, however, the focus is on what they see as the growing pressure on younger generations in Europe’s largest economy.

“The government has offered no response to our concerns other than to continue making cuts and piling further burdens upon us,” said Steve, an 18-year-old due to speak at a rally in Munich, addressing Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“We will continue to exercise our fundamental right to assemble until you stop ignoring us.”

The protests come as Germany struggles to revive economic growth while facing growing pressure on pensions and public services as baby boomers retire and the working-age population shrinks.

But questions have been raised about who is driving the campaign and whether it is genuinely youth-led, given the broad mix of political and civil society groups involved.

Germany’s national school student umbrella organisation, BSK, has distanced itself from the initiative and plans to hold a separate day of protest on November 20.

“We are distancing ourselves from ‘Gen Z regelt,’ but not from the students themselves, who have legitimate concerns,” said BSK secretary-general Amy Kirchhoff on Thursday.

Sean Baker, a student at the Technical University of Berlin, said he would join the protests on Saturday to call attention to the poor state of buildings on campus.

“When you go inside and enter the rooms, it looks like an abandoned building,” he told Reuters. “Yet this is where we’re expected to study on a regular basis.”