German minister blames 'migrant troublemakers' and 'left-wing extremists' after Gen Z protests turn into Frankfurt looting riots
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.
Around 100 left-wing extremists infiltrated largely peaceful Gen Z protests across 34 German cities on Saturday, sparking looting and window-smashing in Frankfurt while Molotov cocktails were hurled at emergency services. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt also pointed the finger at "troublemakers from migrant communities"; the arrest toll stood at a minimum of 30 in Frankfurt and 60 in Berlin, where officers suffered 27 injuries.
Water cannons were deployed in Frankfurt; in Hamburg, demonstrators set crowd control barriers on fire.
Roman Poseck, interior minister for Hesse state, called the scenes in Frankfurt "shameful" and vowed tough penalties.
Organisers of 'Gen Z regelt' — who had called for improvements to education and reductions in the cost of living — denied any involvement in the violence.
