Image source: Reuters
On Sunday, several German cities, including Frankfurt, Berlin, Cologne, and Hamburg, witnessed riots and clashes, including looting of stores and attacks on emergency crews, against the backdrop of protests against the high costs of living and cuts in public spending.
Police said they used water cannons to disperse protesters who attacked emergency crews with fireworks, stones and bottles, while downtown Frankfurt witnessed looting of stores.
Earlier Saturday, thousands of people had participated in mostly peaceful demonstrations, organized by the Gen Z regelt group, to protest against the lack of school funding, the high cost of living, and cuts in public spending, in addition to protesting military service.
What happened in Germany coincided with massive youth demonstrations in France, in which more than 320,000 people participated on Saturday.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told the Bild newspaper on Sunday that the police were able to prevent "acts of violence like those witnessed in Paris" in recent weeks during the night, calling for "severe penalties" to be imposed on rioters and shoplifters.
Authorities in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin reported up to 18,000 demonstrators, roughly half the number organizers estimated on their website. German media indicate that tens of thousands participated in protests in German cities on Saturday.
Lena Friedrich, spokeswoman for the Generation Z movement, said the demonstrations aimed to "fight for peace and freedom, instead of war and coercion."
She said that about 120,000 people participated in demonstrations across the country.
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The initiative demands increased spending on schools, confronts rising costs of living, promotes social justice and climate protection, and rejects a return to compulsory conscription. One of her spokeswoman said that young people feel that politicians do not listen to them and do not take into account their future.
Demonstrators raised banners reading: “It is time to resist” and “Meretz must go,” in reference to the German Chancellor, Friedrich Meretz. Protesters also object to increased military spending and a new model of voluntary military service, which they fear will pave the way for the return of compulsory conscription.
After mostly peaceful daytime protests, tension escalated in the evening in a number of cities.
Police used water cannons and pepper spray in Frankfurt, where they said their officers were pelted with projectiles. It also used water cannons in Hamburg and Cologne, after it said demonstrators targeted police and emergency personnel with stones, bottles and fireworks.
Image source: Getty Images
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On Saturday, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Germany, France, and Portugal, protesting against the high costs of living, the deterioration of public services, and the housing crisis. Clashes broke out between police and groups of protesters in French and German cities, after demonstrations that were mostly peaceful during the day.
In France, about 320,000 people demonstrated across the country, including 70,000 in Paris, according to the Ministry of the Interior, in the third consecutive Saturday of protests against high prices and the conditions of public services.
Confrontations broke out at the end of marches in the capital and other cities, and police used tear gas to disperse protesters.
The authorities said that security forces prevented groups they described as “extremist elements” from separating from the marches to carry out acts of sabotage and looting.
By Saturday evening, the authorities announced the arrest of about 300, according to the Ministry of Interior, as of 6 p.m.
The authorities deployed about 70,000 police and gendarmes, in an effort to prevent a recurrence of the riots and looting that the country witnessed on October 17. The wave of protests began with movements by school students against the deterioration of buildings and the shortage of teachers, before unions and other groups angry at the living conditions joined in.
Portugal: Demands to withdraw a draft rent law
In Lisbon, thousands of people gathered in Rossio Square, demanding that the center-right minority government withdraw a draft rent law, which they say will exacerbate the housing crisis.
Organizers said several thousand participated, while police did not issue a crowd estimate.
According to Reuters, housing prices in Portugal have more than doubled since 2017, new contract rents are close to doubling, and young people are among the groups most affected.
The protesters are demanding the withdrawal of a draft law that facilitates the eviction of tenants and abolishes rent ceilings for new contracts. It passed the first reading in Parliament, with the far-right Shiga party abstaining from voting.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro ruled out withdrawing the project, but expressed his willingness to amend it before the final vote expected in the coming weeks.
Rita Silva, spokeswoman for the "Casa Para Vivir" movement defending the right to housing, said that the protests will continue, considering that the government does not show a willingness to listen. On the other hand, Interior Minister Luis Neves affirmed respect for the legitimacy of the demonstration, stipulating adherence to law and order.
Protests against the housing crisis have escalated in recent weeks, and the police faced criticism for using batons against demonstrators and arresting dozens while dispersing a tented sit-in in Rossio Square a week ago. Rita Silva said that the protesters are showing "perseverance, strength and great determination" in the face of the housing crisis, high costs of living, and the difficulty of securing a living.
The leader of the Socialist Party, Jose Luis Carneiro, called on the government, on Saturday, to engage in dialogue with opposition parties and protesters, instead of “imposing its views arrogantly, and sometimes in an authoritarian tone.”
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