Shops looted in Frankfurt as German cost-of-living protests turn violent

Rioters looted shops in central Frankfurt late on Saturday as clashes erupted in German cities over the cost of living, with police deploying water cannon to disperse protesters who targeted emergency workers with fireworks, stones and bottles. Thousands joined largely peaceful demonstrations earlier in the day, organised by the campaign group Gen Z regelt, meaning "Gen Z takes charge", to protest against underfunding in schools, the high cost of living, public spending cuts and military service. Authorities in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin reported as many as 18,000 protesters, roughly half the figure organisers had estimated on their website, though German media said tens of thousands demonstrated across the country. The violence followed the peaceful marches. On Saturday night Frankfurt police said "violent riots" were occurring in the city centre and that special police units had been deployed. Windows of several shops were smashed and molotov cocktails were thrown at emergency services. Officials said the windows of a gun shop were broken and two weapons were seized after a suspect was arrested, while other shops were broken into and items such as trainers stolen. A large section of Frankfurt's main shopping street was closed off overnight and a police spokesperson said many arrests were made in the city. Roman Poseck, interior minister of Hesse state, of which Frankfurt is the biggest city, said "around 100 clearly identified left-wing extremists" had infiltrated the protest, adding it was "shameful" how the demonstrations had ended. "France must not be held up as a model in this regard," he said, referring to scenes of looting and burning in French protests. Incidents were reported elsewhere. In Cologne, police said officers were attacked near the main train station, with bottles and a bicycle thrown. Cologne's police chief Johannes Hermanns said it was "deeply saddening that young people who wanted to peacefully demonstrate for their future were infiltrated today by extremists who had nothing but violence in mind". In Berlin, a smaller evening demonstration resulted in 27 police officers injured and up to 56 people temporarily detained. In Hamburg, people dressed in black set off fireworks and burned barricades, with public broadcaster NDR reporting 120 arrests. On Sunday, Germany's Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told Bild newspaper that overnight police had prevented "violence like that seen in Paris" in recent weeks and called for "harsh punishments" for rioters and looters. Gen Z regelt spokesperson Lina Friedrich said the demonstrations were held "to fight for peace and freedom, rather than for war and coercion". "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," she said. The German protests took place on the same day as large-scale demonstrations elsewhere in Europe. In France, more than 320,000 people joined a third consecutive weekend of largely peaceful protests demanding action on the high cost of living and poor public services, especially in education. Thousands of police were deployed and officers fired tear gas in some cities. The French interior ministry said there were more than 770 arrests, roughly half as many as the previous week. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said a police officer had been injured by a molotov cocktail, and prosecutors later launched an attempted murder probe. French protest organisers, the Gilet Jaune or Yellow Vests, have said dozens of protesters have been seriously injured in recent demonstrations, many by "grenades". France suspended the use of one type of stun grenade while policing student protests in early October after a 15-year-old's hand was blown off, but Le Monde has reported that police have continued to use a different model in subsequent protests. Protests also took place in Italy, with clashes between police and demonstrators in Rome and Turin, and in Portugal, where police cleared a tent camp after thousands marched against a rental bill critics argue could worsen a housing crisis in a country where house prices have more than doubled over the past decade. Mostly young protesters have recently taken to the streets in France, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Serbia and Albania, with demands varying but largely focused on cost-of-living issues, access to housing, the quality of education and cuts to public services.