Photos: Youth-led rallies sweep Germany

In PicturesSaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkA person in a Batman costume near a fire on a street in Frankfurt, Germany, during nationwide protests on Halloween. [Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters]By AFPPublished On 1 Nov 20261 Nov 2026Large demonstrations have taken place across Germany, and some have descended into violence with police firing water cannon at people throwing Molotov cocktails.Several police officers were injured on Saturday after tens of thousands of people joined youth-led protests across the country organised by the group “Gen Z regelt” (Gen Z has got this).The demonstrations, inspired by similar movements in France and Italy, remained largely peaceful during the day.But tensions escalated in the evening as groups of young people refused to disperse. Violence was reported in major cities, including Frankfurt, Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg.“Gen Z regelt” said about 120,000 people took part in the protests, below the roughly 180,000 it had expected.Police officers confront protesters during the demonstration in Cologne. [Christopher Neundorf/EPA]Protesters march through the streets of Cologne. [Ina Fassbender/AFP]German authorities say the demonstrations on October 31, 2026, were largely peaceful. [Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP]People attend a demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin. [Ralf Hirschberger/AFP]Police are deployed at the demonstration in Dusseldorf. [Buesra Tasdemir/EPA]Police use water cannon to disperse protesters in Cologne. [Kadir Ilboga/Anadolu]Police detain a protestor in Berlin. [Volodymyr Sindieiev/Anadolu]People loot a gun store during protests in Frankfurt. [Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters]Several police officers were injured in the violence on October 31, 2026. [Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters]