+++ Live ticker GenZ regulates +++: The youth want to protest loudly and peacefully

Veronika Dinter, the press spokeswoman for Gen-Z in Berlin, has already distanced herself in advance from another demonstration that has been registered for later in the afternoon in the capital: “We only take responsibility for what we have registered.” The Open Red Meeting Berlin (ORT), among others, is calling for the demonstration called “Gen Z has enough” at 5:30 p.m. at Rosenthaler Platz. The police expect this demonstration to be peaceful. However, insiders definitely expect protesters there who are interested in “actionism”. (mst)

Our reporters are buzzing around and covering today's protests in Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Erfurt, Cologne, Bielefeld, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich.

According to the GenZ website, most people currently want to take part in Cologne, where more than 16,000 people have registered. There are more than 14,000 in Frankfurt, more than 12,000 in Berlin and more than 9,000 in Munich. It remains to be seen whether everyone who has registered will actually take to the streets.

More than 1,000 police forces are to be deployed in cities such as Hamburg, Berlin and Frankfurt. Stefan Müller, police chief of Frankfurt am Main, seems to feel more like a dog master. “I'm happy about the peaceful protest and then they'll get the maximum leash from me,” he said at a press conference - just as if the demonstrators were dogs. When things go wrong, his people are there to “restrict”. (lol/cay)

The “Gen Z rules” protests have already achieved something before they even started: showing what fears the mere announcement of a French-style youth protest triggers in Germany. The Interior Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Manuel Hagel, vowed that an allegedly “violent mob” should be “struck back with all the rigor of the constitutional state.” The Young Union even wanted to use soldiers against the young people. A police unionist created a racist image in which he spoke of “riot migrants” who could expect “no mercy.” For weeks, people fantasized about the movement being infiltrated by left-wing extremists or even Islamists.

Today is now the day of truth. Will the new movement succeed in carrying this momentum to Germany? Or is it just one of many attempts by left-wing activists to set up social protests in Germany? Will images of colorful signs or burning garbage cans dominate the news in the evening - even though “Gen Z is in charge” has repeatedly emphasized peaceful intentions? (tk)

The Berlin social scientist Christian Volk sees the potential for a larger protest movement in the planned “GenZ” demonstrations. “There is an enormous amount of pressure in the boiler,” the Humboldt University professor told the AFP news agency. “The housing shortage, cuts in education, the conscription debate and the shift to the right in society – a lot of things come together.” The young people demanded “that their political experiences and future expectations be heard” (afp).

Young people want to take to the streets in 34 cities on Saturday under the motto “More money for the climate, schools, affordable living for everyone”. Around 180,000 people have registered on the GenZ-regelt website. “All are welcome, no matter how old,” it says.

The “Gen Z Regulates” initiative consists of individuals who have registered meetings in Cologne, Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich. Other protests that have joined the call are taking place in Dresden, Aachen, Kiel and Freiburg, for example. In most cities, protests have been announced from 2 p.m.

Left-wing political groups also supported the call, for example through posts that were in turn distributed by Gen Z. The CDU and the police union then threatened a police force without mercy. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution raved about left-wing extremist influence. However, the police did not have any “robust information about targeted extremist influence or control of the group”. Other observers fear that the movement will become as well-behaved as Fridays For Future were. There was a first blockade on October 12th at the French High School in Berlin-Tiergarten. You can read more about the origins of the movement here.

In France, but also Spain, Italy, Albania and Portugal, the anger of young people has been venting for several weeks over failed education and social systems, the total failure of governments in the climate crisis, over rearmament and war. (tk/lol)