Gen-Z protests called in more than 30 German cities on Saturday over education and living costs

Protests have been called for Saturday in more than 30 cities across Germany. The youth-led "Gen-Z" demonstrations have been organised over education, the cost of living and rising government spending on the military.

While many have expressed solidarity with the protests, university student organisations are not showing solidarity with the movement. Because recent protests in several European countries including France turned violent, there are fears of a similar situation around Saturday's programme in Germany, and authorities in various cities are on alert.

In recent weeks, thousands of people have taken to the streets in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Albania. In some places rising living costs were the main issue, in others improving the education system, and elsewhere protests were against corruption. But in several countries the protests turned violent, with looting of shops, barricades set on fire and attacks on security forces.

Who is organising the movement in Germany is still not fully clear. The call came from an initiative named "Gen-Z", but exactly who is behind it could not be confirmed. The contact address published on the organisers' website was changed twice within the past week; on Thursday it listed an address in Switzerland.

The movement is being promoted nationally and locally through social media and online platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Telegram.

German broadcaster ARD's online news reported that, because the protesters' organisational structure is unclear, the federal student representatives' organisation, the Bundesschülerkonferenz, has already distanced itself from the proposed protest. However, it plans to hold a separate protest programme of its own in Berlin on 20 November, in which teachers and representatives of other youth movements are also expected to take part.

Yanis Yulian Grimm, a researcher at the interdisciplinary peace and conflict research centre at Berlin's Free University, said a loose organisational structure was not unusual for a new protest movement. "Especially in the early stages of a movement, protests begin on the basis of personal contacts, informal networks and digital media. It takes a long time to build a well-organised structure with clear division of responsibilities, designated spokespersons and a full political programme," he said, citing the "Fridays for Future" movement as an example.

The protesters have listed six demands on their website. The first is that funding must be increased for educational institutions, addiction-treatment support and psychotherapy, and budgets in these areas must not be cut. The second is that the cost of living must be made bearable for everyone and people's everyday crises and worries given the highest priority. The third is that the burden of austerity must not be placed on the young generation, and the cost must be shared fairly among all sections of society.

The fourth demand is to reduce military spending and oppose compulsory recruitment into military training after the age of 18, or at least take no decision about young people's future without their opinion. The fifth is that surveillance systems must not be continuously expanded, in order to protect fundamental rights. The sixth and final demand is that effective climate protection measures be taken now to ensure the safety of future generations.

Researcher Grimm added that young people in different European countries shared a common experience of political helplessness and uncertainty about the future. "Over the past few years social inequality has steadily increased, the cost of living has risen, and in many countries the education system has long been in crisis from lack of adequate funding. On the other hand, the long-term effects of the climate crisis will have to be borne most by the young generation," he said.

Felix Banaszak, president of Germany's environmentalist Green Party, warned against viewing all the protesters with suspicion. He told the RND media network that portraying the protest in advance as a criminal activity and lumping the protesters together with violent groups could instead push some people further towards extremism, and that there should instead be constructive political discussion of the young people's legitimate demands.

Germany's security authorities are not ruling out any possible situation entirely, but their statements so far carry no sign of particular concern. A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said no specific call for violence at the protests had come to their attention so far, though parts of left-wing extremist groups and several organisations abroad were campaigning in support of the protest call and were involved in promoting such violent movements in Germany as well.