Germany Braces for Gen Z Rallies in 34 Cities on Halloween

Berlin (GNP): More than 160,000 people are expected to take part in youth-led demonstrations across Germany on Saturday, according to organisers. The protests will demand better education and lower living costs.

The rallies are planned in 34 cities, including Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich, and are organised by the campaign group Gen Z regelt, which means Gen Z takes charge. The group also opposes compulsory military service. The protests coincide with Halloween festivities.

The movement follows a wave of Gen Z-led demonstrations across Europe this year. In Serbia, student-led activism helped unseat the country’s long-time leader at the ballot box. In France, protests have descended into rioting and looting.

Those scenes in France are shaping how German officials view Saturday’s events. Federal authorities expect the demonstrations to be largely peaceful but have warned that extremist groups may try to exploit them. The federal interior ministry said parts of the far-left extremist scene, along with some groups linked to foreign extremist movements, have joined efforts to mobilise support.

Roman Poseck, interior minister for the state of Hesse, whose capital is the financial hub Frankfurt, said Germany must not follow the French example. He pointed to images of looting, burning houses, burning police vehicles and attacks on police officers.

Businesses in Berlin are already preparing for trouble. Some shops along the luxury Kurfürstendamm boulevard have boarded up their windows and planned early closures.

For the organisers, the focus is on the pressure facing younger Germans. Steve, an 18-year-old due to speak at a rally in Munich, said the government had offered no response to young people’s concerns beyond further cuts. He addressed his remarks to Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

That pressure comes at a difficult time for Europe’s largest economy. Germany is struggling to revive growth while pensions and public services face growing strain as baby boomers retire and the working-age population shrinks.

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Questions remain about who is really driving the campaign. A broad mix of political and civil society groups is involved, and some observers have asked whether it is genuinely youth-led. Germany’s national school student umbrella organisation, BSK, has distanced itself from Gen Z regelt and plans a separate day of protest on 20 November.

Some students say their grievances are concrete. Sean Baker, a student at the Technical University of Berlin, plans to join the protest to draw attention to the poor state of campus buildings.

Roman Poseck said, “France must not be held up as a model in this regard.”

Steve said, “We will continue to exercise our fundamental right to assemble.”

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

Sean Baker said, “It looks like an abandoned building.”