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BERLIN: Tens of thousands of people across Germany joined demonstrations on Saturday, as a youth-led movement inspired by protests elsewhere in Europe \u200ctook to the streets to demand better education and lower living costs.<\/strong><\/p>\n The protests follow a wave of Gen Z-led demonstrations across Europe this year. In Serbia, student-led activism helped unseat the country\u2019s long-time leader at the ballot box, while protests in France have descended into rioting and looting.<\/span><\/p>\n The German protests organised by the campaign group \u201cGen Z regelt\u201d \u2014 \u201cGen Z takes charge\u201d in German \u2014 \u200bare planned in 34 cities including Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. The group says it opposes compulsory military service and wants greater investment in \u200beducation as many young Germans struggle with rising costs.<\/span><\/p>\n Official numbers on Saturday afternoon suggested participant turnout was below the \u2060182,000 organisers initially expected. Police in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin reported as many as 18,000 protesters, half the roughly 36,000 on the organisers\u2019 website.<\/span><\/p>\n German authorities said Saturday\u2019s \u200bdemonstrations, which coincide with Halloween festivities, had been largely peaceful so far, but warned of attempts by extremist groups to exploit the movement.<\/span><\/p>\n In Hamburg, some barricades \u200bwere set on fire.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe are here today to fight for peace and freedom, rather than for war and coercion,\u201d Gen Z regelt spokesperson Lina Friedrich said in Berlin on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat matters most to us is better support for the health and education systems. We are against compulsory military service and we are in favour of a fairer distribution of \u200bthe burden.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Parts of Germany\u2019s far-left extremist scene and some groups linked to foreign extremist movements have joined efforts to mobilise support, according to the federal \u200binterior ministry.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe all have those images from France in our minds \u2014 looting, burning houses, burning police vehicles, and attacks on police officers,\u201d said Roman \u200cPoseck, interior \u2060minister for the state of Hesse, whose capital is Germany\u2019s financial hub, Frankfurt.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFrance must not be held up as a model in this regard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Some businesses across German cities boarded up windows and planned early closures ahead of the demonstrations due to concerns over possible unrest, including along Berlin\u2019s luxury Kurfuerstendamm shopping boulevard.<\/span><\/p>\n For organisers, the focus is on what they see as the growing pressure on younger generations in Europe\u2019s largest economy.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe government has offered no response to our \u200bconcerns other than to continue making cuts \u200band piling further burdens upon \u2060us,\u201d said Steve, an 18-year-old due to speak at a rally in Munich, addressing Chancellor Friedrich Merz.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue to exercise our fundamental right to assemble until you stop ignoring us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The protests come as Germany struggles to revive economic \u200bgrowth and faces growing pressure on pensions and public services as baby boomers retire and the working-age population \u200bshrinks.<\/span><\/p>\n But questions have been \u2060raised about who is driving the campaign and whether it is genuinely youth-led, given the broad mix of political and civil society groups involved.<\/span><\/p>\n Germany\u2019s national school student umbrella organisation, BSK, has distanced itself from the initiative and plans to hold a separate day of protest on November 20.<\/span><\/p>\n Sean Baker, a student at the Technical \u2060University of \u200bBerlin, said he would join the protests on Saturday to call attention to the poor \u200bstate of buildings on campus.<\/span><\/p>\nLUXURY SHOPS BOARD UP WINDOWS<\/span><\/h2>\n