As reported on Instagram
A German youth initiative calling itself "Gen Z regelt" — "Gen Z's Got It," also appearing as "GenZ steht auf," or "Generation Z Rises" — has called demonstrations in 21 cities across Germany on Saturday, October 31, in protest against austerity, rising living costs, compulsory military service and failing public services. The actions are set to begin at 2 p.m., and registrations on the movement's website reached tens of thousands within days of the call, with reports on Thursday citing more than 25,000 people signed up.
Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt am Main are among the cities listed, along with Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Dresden, Dortmund, Mainz, Stuttgart and Bremen. The organisers say they are directly responsible for the content and organisation of the protests in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne, while the actions in the remaining cities are being run by local groups answering the same call.
The movement's demands centre on the conditions young people say they face every day: more investment in education, better school buildings and facilities, more teachers and smaller classes, and equal opportunities regardless of social background. They extend to more staff and investment in healthcare, affordable housing and living costs, stronger climate protection and a stronger social safety net, and they include opposition to budget austerity carried out at the expense of the young and to any return of compulsory military service.
The call was inspired in part by the youth protests that have spread across France, where students have been demonstrating since late September. The German organisers insist their own protests will be strictly peaceful and nonpartisan. The initiative's website states that it is against all violence, whether directed at people or property, and that extremist groups are to be excluded, and co-initiator Akram Selo told the dpa news agency that exclusively peaceful demonstrations are planned. The organisers say October 31 is meant to be a beginning, not the end, of their activities.
Germany's national student body has welcomed the call. Isabelle Seltenreich, spokesperson for the Federal Conference of Students, said the planned protests are viewed basically positively so long as they remain peaceful and democratic, and that students have the right and every reason to take to the streets for better education and school conditions. She also warned that the demonstrations could be instrumentalised by different political groups.
Security authorities say they are watching the mobilisation closely while distinguishing it from the extremist scene. The Federal Interior Ministry said federal and state authorities are coordinating, including through the Joint Centre for Countering Extremism and Terrorism, that the domestic intelligence service is stepping up observation of relevant websites and social-media channels, and that people intending to enter Germany to take part in violent protests may be turned back at the border. Police describe their posture as vigilant and relaxed, and say they will protect the right to assemble, but police union leaders have warned that radicals could insert themselves among demonstrators to attack officers or cause destruction, and interior ministers in Hesse and Bavaria have announced a strong police presence and warned against French-style riots.
Those warnings reflect what has happened in France, where protests that began over the school system widened into broader unrest, drew hundreds of thousands onto the streets on recent weekends and in places turned to rioting and damage, with protests also reported in Italy and Spain. Whether October 31 in Germany stays with the peaceful demonstrations the organisers have promised will be the first test of the movement they are trying to build.