Merz condemns riots on the sidelines of youth protests

After the riots on the sidelines of the youth protests, politicians are discussing the consequences - and who initiated the violence. Chancellor Merz emphasizes that tough action will be taken. At the same time he shows understanding

Merz on riots at the weekend “Violence has no place on our streets” As of: November 2nd, 2026 • 3:59 p.m

With a view to the riots at the weekend, Chancellor Friedrich Merz is in favor of tough action against the perpetrators of violence. At the same time, he shows understanding for some of the concerns of the young demonstrators.

"Violence has no place on our streets, and my government will show no tolerance here," says the CDU chairman's speech manuscript for the CDU district chairman's conference, which is not public. Excerpts from the paper are available to the news agencies dpa and Reuters.

In it, the Chancellor emphasized: "Anyone who attacks police officers and emergency services and loots shops is attacking our freedom and mocking society and the legitimate interests of young people." The criminals would feel the severity of the law. Merz expressly thanked the police, who responded in an exemplary manner.

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But he also emphasized that the majority of young people demonstrated peacefully. The positive message he took away from the weekend was: "The young generation is political and they are worried about their future." There are deficits, especially when it comes to housing, and budgets need to be relieved so that states can invest more in education. "All of these topics are at the top of our work list." The responsible education minister, Karin Prien (CDU), will now continue and deepen the conversation with the young generation.

The protests were largely peaceful - but towards the evening there were riots in several cities.

“We want to give young people a good future, we want to hand them a properly run country,” said Merz. "We cannot burden the younger generation with the burdens that an aging society brings with it." That's exactly why the government is working on reforms."

Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius also emphasized that excessive violence had “no place in our country.” At the same time, the Chancellor takes the demands of young people very seriously and considers them to be “legitimate concerns”.

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The government spokesman and also the spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior defended the statement by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), who had spoken of "violent left-wing groups and chaotic people from the migrant milieu" after the riots. Merz shares Dobrindt's analysis, said Kornelius. The Interior Minister “presented the situation comprehensively” and Merz agrees.

Roman Poseck, Interior Minister of Hesse, on the riots and looting in Frankfurt am Main daily topics, Das Erste, November 1st, 2026 • 11:15 p.m. However, the federal government cannot yet substantiate the statements with concrete data. There are currently “no valid nationwide figures” on the incidents, said the spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior. However, the ministry has “observations from the police officers” on site and, in some cases, from the constitutional protection authorities. Kornelius also referred to images from the weekend's events.

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Education Minister Prien also supported Dobrindt. After the "largely peaceful demonstrations" ended, there were violent excesses by left-wing radical groups, "but also by others who probably also come from migrant backgrounds," said the CDU politician on Deutschlandfunk. "This is not about stirring up resentment; that would also be politically wrong."

It's more about looking at reality and getting an impression of why people resort to such means. "And if they come from migrant backgrounds, then that has to worry us and then we have to look at the causes." One question is why integration is less successful in some groups than in others.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, however, distanced himself from the interpretation of the Union politicians and pointed out that the debate revolved around unclear terms. "What are migrant groups? Are they people who live in Germany in the third generation and are German citizens? Where do we stop differentiating this?" asked the SPD politician on ZDF. He thinks this is going in the wrong direction.

The Federal Government's Integration Commissioner Natalie Pawlik, also from the SPD, made a similar statement. “Perpetrators are, first of all, perpetrators. It is too easy to always attribute such violent incidents to migrant milieus,” she told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

At the weekend, tens of thousands of young people demonstrated, mostly peacefully. Afterwards, there were some serious riots. In Frankfurt am Main, stones and incendiary bottles were thrown, rioters destroyed shop windows and there was looting. After mostly peaceful demonstrations, there were also riots and clashes with the police in Cologne, Hamburg and Berlin.