The infection of protests reaches Germany, coinciding with new marches in France

- Protests denouncing the high cost of living - which began in France - spread to Germany, where the country witnessed demonstrations on Saturday that coincided with Halloween celebrations, in which tens of thousands participated in various parts of the country. Under the slogan “Generation Z takes over!” (Gen Z has got this!) A German youth movement is leading protests against the high cost of living, lack of funding in schools and universities, environmental concerns, as well as the possible reintroduction of compulsory military service.

Protests were organized in major cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Munich. While the protests in the capital, Berlin, were peaceful, water cannons and riot control forces were deployed in the cities of Cologne and Hamburg.

The police in Cologne explained that they used water cannons after some protesters lit fireworks during a march in the city center, stressing in a statement that "our measures are directed against rioters and violent elements, and not against peaceful participants." In Hamburg, riot police intervened after setting fire to security barriers and assaulting emergency crews.

The police stated that there is "an increase in incidents in which emergency crews are pelted with fireworks and construction materials... so riot control forces are taking immediate measures to deal with this situation."

In Frankfurt, police reported that Molotov cocktails were thrown at emergency crews, and storefronts were smashed, prompting authorities to close part of the Zeil commercial street. The police arrested one of the suspects and seized two weapons after smashing the windows of a weapons store.

Gen Z organizers chose to time the protests to coincide with Halloween, with the aim of ensuring the largest possible participation and increasing public awareness of their demands. The movement states on its website: “We are young people who no longer accept that decisions regarding our future be made without our participation.”

The movement also emphasizes the peaceful nature of the protests, as organizers instructed participants to keep their faces uncovered, even if they were wearing Halloween costumes. At the national level, the German authorities deployed additional numbers of police officers in preparation for these protests, and luxury stores on the upscale Kurfürstendamm street in Berlin covered their facades with wooden panels as a precaution.

This youth movement in Germany comes on the heels of a wider wave of protests that have swept Europe, including major unrest in France, which saw rioting and looting, and now faces another weekend of protest rallies. On Saturday, France witnessed nationwide protests organized by the "yellow vest" movement, in what was described as the "third chapter" of the demonstrations, after previous protests that took place on October 17 and 24.

Students and some trade unions are also expected to join these movements. The French Ministry of the Interior announced that 320,000 people participated in the protests across the country on Saturday, including 70,000 in Paris.

This number is much lower than the 550,000 who demonstrated on October 17, and the 410,000 who participated in last week’s protests. The ministry stated that by 6 p.m. local time, 296 people had been detained across the country.

Warning of a "very high risk of public unrest", French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced this week that demonstrations would only be allowed outside city centres, with an additional 70,000 members of the security forces deployed across the country. The protests were mostly peaceful, with the exception of some incidents. The Ministry of Interior indicated in a statement the presence of “extremist elements at the tail end of the marches” in several cities.

Including Bordeaux, Toulouse, Rennes, Lille, Nantes, Marseille and Lyon, where “participants attempted to enter city centers with the aim of causing damage and looting.” The ministry stated that the police intervened and "thwarted" those attempts.

Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally party in France, said on the X platform (formerly Twitter), that “anyone who sends an “improvised incendiary device” to law enforcement forces should be severely punished,” adding that “the perpetrators should remain in prison for many, many years.” Police in the city of Rennes, in the Brittany region in northwestern France, reported that while the main march scheduled for Saturday proceeded “calmly along the planned route,” hundreds of rioters attacked police officers after the end of the protest, throwing projectiles and setting fires.

The protests have witnessed violence in recent weeks. The Ministry stated, on Friday, that by October 29, the number of police officers who had been injured since the start of the protests had reached no less than 1,193 police officers. Halloween also added a new complexity to the protest scene. The French Interior Minister warned of separate calls for gatherings across France starting at eight in the evening local time, behind which “extremist groups from the far left and extremist elements of the Yellow Vest movement” stand.

He pointed out that some messages used the occasion of Halloween to call for a “revolution” and “uprising,” describing it as incitement to serious public unrest, and warning that such gatherings would be prohibited. In recent days, the word “Purge” has spread across social media platforms, referring to a fictional film series depicting a world in which all types of crimes are allowed to be committed legally for 12 hours a year.

“On Halloween, the rules remain the same!” Paris police warned on the It is noteworthy that the protests in France began in late September, led by high school students who demanded improving the conditions of dilapidated school buildings, addressing the teacher shortage, providing the necessary resources, in addition to making changes to the university admission system.

The protests later developed to take on larger dimensions, as the "yellow vest" movement - which originally began as a movement against the sharp rise in fuel prices - joined them, along with other groups that took to the streets. The scenes of violence and looting that occurred during the October 17 protests remain a source of concern to French officials.

On that day, more than 550,000 people took to the streets across France - according to the Ministry of the Interior - more than 3,000 shops were attacked or looted, some completely destroyed, and more than 2,700 people were arrested. In response to a question about students who were injured during the protests, President Emmanuel Macron described this violence as a “collective failure.”

Macron said in a conversation with YouTube content creator, Hugo Travers: “I do not think that any high school student started demanding his rights expecting to face such dire consequences. I also do not know of a single policeman who joined the police force only to find himself in the middle of horrific and violent moments like these.”

Saturday's demonstration comes shortly before November 5, when all eyes will be on a strike and a comprehensive national movement called for by a union coalition, in protest against the rising costs of living.