Police take stock of riots in Frankfurt

Police on riots Many rioters in Frankfurt probably had no political motive As of: November 1st, 2026 • 3:34 p.m

54 arrests, numerous injuries and five stores looted: After the riots in Frankfurt am Main, the police have taken stock. There was no apparent political motive for the majority of the rioters.

54 arrests, 100 injured police officers, five shops looted: After the serious riots in Frankfurt, the police and the Interior Ministry took stock on Sunday. Accordingly, 87 criminal complaints were filed, 1,225 expulsions were issued and 366 people were checked. Firefighters and rescue workers were also attacked.

After the riots in Frankfurt: Press conference with the Interior Minister and police Das Erste After the largely peaceful Gen Z protests, there was looting and massive violence against emergency services in downtown Frankfurt on Saturday evening. The riots lasted late into the night. At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU), police chief Stefan Müller, operations manager Erik Hessenmüller and representatives of the city of Frankfurt informed about the findings so far.

According to the police, a distinction must be made between different groups. Towards the end of the demonstration, a smaller group became violent, said operations manager Erik Hessenmüller. The police, however, attribute the later riots on the Zeil and in the rest of the city center to a different group of people.

It was a difficult situation for the emergency services, said Hessenmüller. When dealing with it, it is therefore necessary to differentiate exactly who was involved in the riots and when.

According to the police, the nightly riots and looting were mainly carried out by young men with a migrant background. The groups, which meet regularly on weekends in downtown Frankfurt, are already known to the police, said Police Chief Stefan Müller.

Until now, these people have been classified as “experience-oriented”. The events of Saturday have now shown that they are also prepared to use violence. However, there is no apparent political motive among them.

The police hope to be able to identify additional suspects based on the video recordings. Those already arrested are people between the ages of 13 and 29. According to Interior Minister Poseck, most of them have German citizenship.

Those arrested included people from Frankfurt as well as people from other parts of Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, said Müller.

Some of the rioters may have taken images of looting in France as a model. Which stores were attacked was apparently rather coincidental.

According to police, a total of five stores were looted. A weapons store was also attacked. There the police were able to arrest several people and seize blank firearms.

Those responsible illustrated how difficult the situation was for the emergency services based on the extent of the riots. At times there were up to 30 locations at the same time

The large area with its numerous streets, small alleys and courtyards made police operations considerably more difficult. Added to this was the large number of rioters.

According to the police, emergency services were attacked with firecrackers and Molotov cocktails, sometimes from ambushes. Rioters also set up barricades.

Poseck described the riots as a “horrific excess of violence.” It was an extraordinarily difficult night for the emergency services.

According to him, 100 police officers were injured, one of them seriously. The officer received a stone in the face. These are “images that don’t belong in our cityscape,” said Poseck.

The group of an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 disruptors was predominantly “migrant,” he said. At the same time, he said that the majority of those arrested were German nationals.

There should now be “no false taboos,” demanded Poseck. He relies on “arrests and deterrent punishments.”

For Poseck, the riots are an “initial spark for a tougher approach.” The night must have clear consequences. The perpetrators would have to feel the “full severity of the rule of law”.

The Interior Minister announced that he wanted to take stronger action against structures of "violent people with a migration background". The aim is to identify possible dangers at an early stage.

Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU) was also shocked by the excesses of violence. These would not remain without consequences, he told the German Press Agency.

"Anyone who behaves like the attackers in downtown Frankfurt places themselves outside of our society. We will carefully assess the aggressors, groups of perpetrators and the course of events and draw our conclusions."

Frankfurt's mayor Mike Josef (SPD) was also shocked. He was “stunned and angry,” he said at the press conference. "It hurts me to see our city like this."

Unlike Interior Minister Poseck, Josef did not focus on the origin of the alleged perpetrators. "I don't care at all what passport someone has or where their parents were born," said the mayor. Anyone who commits violence must face the legal consequences.

The organizers of the Gen Z demonstration expressly distanced themselves from the riots. “We had no influence on what happened after the end of the rallies,” explained a spokesman for the “Gen Z Regulates” initiative.

The initiative had already published a statement on Instagram on Saturday evening. In it, she distanced herself from “any form of violence as well as violent actions by other groups or individuals” who were not part of the demonstrations.

"We stand for peaceful protest, democratic values ​​and the right to freely express our opinions. Violence has never been and is never part of our movement."

Despite the riots, the initiative wants to continue demonstrating. The protests on Saturday were only a first step. In three weeks, people across the country will be mobilized again.

“We want to take part in the Europe-wide protests on November 20th,” said a spokesman for the press team, who only wants to appear publicly under his first name Amadeo, to the German Press Agency.

This topic in the program: Broadcast: hr INFO, 11/01/2026 9:00 a.m. / hr INFO, 11/01/26, 3:00 p.m