Frankfurt riots: looting and firebombs after youth protests

The wave of unrest sweeping Europe has reached Germany. After violent clashes in France and other countries, Germany experienced a night of serious rioting on Shabbos, with Frankfurt at the centre of the chaos. Masked rioters smashed shop windows, looted stores and hurled firebombs at police, who were forced to use crowd-dispersal measures.

The violence followed mass demonstrations held across Germany under the banner of "Gen Z regelt", a youth protest movement that organised rallies in 34 cities including Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. Tens of thousands of young people took to the streets demanding improvements to the education system, investment in schools, relief from the cost of living and opposition to expanded mandatory military service.

For most of the day, the protests remained relatively calm. But as evening fell, the situation escalated sharply. In Frankfurt, groups of masked youths gathered in the city centre and began smashing shop windows and looting businesses. Among the targets were a shoe shop, a perfume shop and other retailers. A gun shop was also attacked, its display windows shattered.

Police arrived and made arrests, seizing two firearms that had been taken from the broken-into gun shop. Zeil, the city's main shopping street, was closed to traffic, and large police forces were called to the area in an attempt to regain control.

The violence was not limited to looting. Rioters threw stones, bottles, fireworks and firebombs at officers and emergency personnel. Police deployed water cannon and pepper spray, and the area saw the deployment of a police helicopter, drones and armoured vehicles. Several officers were injured in the clashes and required medical treatment.

Roman Poseck, interior minister of the state of Hesse, addressed the events and said that around 100 activists identified with the far left had infiltrated the Frankfurt demonstration and were involved in the violent attacks. He described the way the events in the city ended as "shameful" and warned against the protest becoming a platform for extremist elements.

Clashes were also reported in other German cities. In Hamburg, barricades were set on fire, and in Cologne police deployed water cannon against rioters who threw objects at security forces. Clashes and arrests were also reported in Berlin and Leipzig.

Frankfurt police issued an unusual statement warning of continued rioting in the city centre and calling on residents and passers-by to stay away from the area. Following the events, police opened an investigation and asked citizens to submit footage and photographs from the disturbances.

The protests in Germany join a wave of youth demonstrations across Europe, with France seeing clashes between protesters and security forces over the weekend, alongside arson and attacks on police. In Germany, protest organisers stress that they oppose violence and that the aim of the demonstrations was to highlight the plight of the younger generation, but the events in Frankfurt illustrated how mass protests can easily become violent clashes and looting.