Masked rioters loot shops and raid a GUN SHOP in Frankfurt as Gen Z cost-of-living protests turn violent across Germany
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.
Frankfurt police confirmed two weapons were stolen from a raided gun shop before officers recovered them and arrested a suspect, as Molotov cocktails rained down on emergency services and water cannons were deployed across multiple German cities. Authorities reported 27 officers injured in Berlin alone, where 56 people were arrested after protesters occupied tram lines and blocked roads. The Gen Z regelt group had mobilised demonstrators in 34 cities, with turnout in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin reaching around 18,000 — roughly half the organisers' estimate.
Hesse interior minister Roman Poseck blamed around 100 'left-wing extremist' perpetrators for launching a 'massive attack' on police.
Rioters pelted officers with stones, fireworks and pepper bombs before escalating to Molotov cocktails; Hamburg protesters also burned down barricades.
Across the border in France, a police officer suffered severe burns after being struck by a petrol bomb in Paris — an attack the interior minister called 'attempted murder'.
