German interior minister blames violent Left-wingers and 'troublemakers from the migrant community' for a weekend of riots and looting

Alexander Dobrindt vowed harsh sentences after Frankfurt saw emergency services pelted with fireworks, stones and Molotov cocktails during riots that left 54 people aged 13 to 29 in custody and 17 stores looted — among them a gun shop from which two weapons were recovered.

Organisers claim 120,000 people joined largely peaceful marches across 34 cities demanding education funding, lower living costs and an end to conscription.

In France, a Molotov cocktail set a police officer on fire, triggering an 'attempted murder' investigation, while disorder also broke out in Lisbon.

France now braces for a fresh wave of student protests as the movement enters its fourth consecutive weekend of unrest.