German students protest social spending cuts, military conscription plans Saturday - Anadolu Ajansı

Tens of thousands of students are expected to protest across Germany on Saturday against social spending cuts and plans to revive military conscription, organizers said.

The demonstrations, organized by a new youth initiative called Gen Z Regelt, or Gen Z handles it, will also demand increased education funding and measures to address the cost-of-living crisis.

Major marches are planned in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne, with additional protests scheduled in 29 other cities.

Nearly 175,000 people have registered online to participate in the demonstrations, according to the organizers.

The initiative, made up of high school and university students, said on its website that it rejects violence and intends to hold peaceful marches.

The group criticized cuts to social spending, the government's handling of the climate crisis and what it described as a failure to address young people's concerns about wars and conflicts.

It also opposed plans to revive military conscription and called for greater investment in education.

Despite initial backing from several youth groups, some organizations distanced themselves from the protest call last week.

The country’s largest student organization, the BSK, and the Jusos, the youth wing of the center-left Social Democrats, cited a lack of transparency.

They described the initiative as a loose internet-based coalition, noting that it was unclear who was behind the call and that organizers were hard to reach ahead of local events.

The environmentalist Greens and socialist Left Party expressed support for the protests.

Katharina Droege, co-chair of the Greens' parliamentary group, said young people were frustrated because the federal government was not taking their concerns seriously.

She urged Chancellor Friedrich Merz to invite youth representatives to the Chancellery for talks.

"The chancellor should listen to the criticism of young people and take their concerns seriously," Droege told local media.

Luigi Pantisano, co-chair of the Left Party, also expressed support for participation in peaceful demonstrations.

"We firmly reject the smear campaign with which right-wing forces in politics and the media are targeting the planned protests," he said.

Pantisano said tens of thousands of young people wanted to demonstrate peacefully for better education and affordable living conditions while opposing war and social spending cuts.

"The completely disproportionate scaremongering and the prejudgments show above all one thing: those who benefit from the current grievances and the policy of the Merz government fear the headwind," he said.

"For us it is clear: we stand in solidarity with the young people."

German police announced plans for a heavy presence in several cities ahead of Saturday's demonstrations.

Shop owners and boutique operators began boarding up their businesses, with several luxury stores in central Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne covered with wooden boards.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, authorities were placed on high alert as approximately 44,000 people registered for demonstrations across the state, according to organizers.

Police in Duesseldorf arrested four men Friday on suspicion of planning violence against police officers and thefts, German news agency DPA reported.

It remains unclear whether the suspects intended to join the protests, supported their demands or sought to exploit the demonstrations.

North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul said protests were legitimate but warned against extremist violence.

"The images from France and Italy are shocking. Individual left-wing extremists apparently now want to mobilize here as well," Reul told local media.

"Anyone who abuses protests in North Rhine-Westphalia to organize hate and chaos will encounter a police force that pushes back robustly. We will not accept a marauding mob destroying our cities," he added.