Gen Z riots spread to Germany as rioters loot a Frankfurt gun shop and hurl Molotov cocktails at police
Crowds on the streets of Frankfurt on Saturday night, as around 100 rioters — some in Halloween costumes — smashed open storefronts and attacked emergency workers with Molotov cocktails amid a Gen Z cost-of-living protest that drew an estimated 8,000 demonstrators at its peak.A post shared by @NewsFokus on X showing scenes from Frankfurt am Main under the #GenZRegelt hashtag, as France separately banned Halloween masks ahead of fresh protests.Riot police on the streets of Paris. France banned Halloween masks and deployed 70,000 police and gendarmes nationwide amid warnings of "a very high risk of public disorder.Fires and smoke at Porte de Charenton, Paris, as a French officer was treated for severe burns after a Molotov cocktail struck him — an attack France's interior minister described as attempted murder.
Germany's financial capital was plunged into disorder on Halloween night as demonstrators from the 'Gen Z regelt' campaign — calling for lower living costs, improved education and an end to military conscription — saw their marches in Frankfurt, Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg overrun by rioters. Authorities deployed water cannons and tear gas as tens of thousands rallied across 34 cities; police put the Frankfurt crowd at 8,000 at its height, while organisers put the number at twice that.
Hesse interior minister Roman Poseck held "around 100 clearly identified left-wing extremists" responsible for turning a peaceful demonstration violent.
A suspect was taken into custody after rioters broke the window of a Frankfurt gun shop and took two weapons, both of which were subsequently recovered by police.
France entered a third straight weekend of unrest, though Saturday's turnout of 320,000 resulted in fewer arrests — 779 — compared with the 2,628 recorded on October 17, as authorities prepared for further demonstrations on Tuesday and Thursday.
