Riots Break Out in Frankfurt as Young Europeans Protest High Costs and Military Service

Tens of thousands of young people marched through more than 30 cities in Germany on Saturday to demand lower living costs, better schools, and a stop to plans for mandatory military service. The protests were organized by a group called Gen Z regelt, which means 'Gen Z takes charge.' While most of the demonstrations were peaceful, parts of Frankfurt saw serious violence, including fires, broken windows, and attacks on emergency workers. The unrest came weeks after similar protests in France made headlines around the world.

In Frankfurt, rioters smashed windows at several shops and set fire to barricades in the streets. People also threw Molotov cocktails — homemade fire bombs — at police and other emergency workers. Frankfurt police posted a warning on social media urging people to stay away from the city center. In Hamburg, another major German city, some barricades were also set on fire, and some businesses had boarded up their windows before the protests even started.

The group behind the protests, Gen Z regelt, says it speaks for young Germans who feel left behind. Spokesperson Lina Friedrich spoke to crowds in Berlin on Saturday, saying the group wants better support for health care and education. She also said they are against bringing back mandatory military service, which would require young people to serve in the army. 'What matters most to us is better support for the health and education systems,' she said.

Organizers had hoped for 182,000 protesters across Germany, but official counts on Saturday afternoon suggested the turnout was lower than expected. Still, the protests were large enough to get attention from officials and the media. Roman Poseck, a top government official in the state that includes Frankfurt, warned Germans not to copy what happened in France. 'France must not be held up as a model in this regard,' he said, referring to weeks of rioting in that country.

The protests in Germany were part of a bigger wave of demonstrations happening across Europe. In France, Italy, Serbia, and Spain, people have been marching against high prices, poor education funding, and other concerns. France saw the largest crowds, with that country's government counting 320,000 protesters on Saturday alone. In Paris, one banner read: 'We do not need tear gas for our future to be blurry.'

Italy also saw large protests in cities like Rome and Milan. That country's government decided to send 500 army soldiers to help police in Milan after masked protesters looted stores and threw objects at officers earlier in the month. An NBC News crew saw police use a water cannon on protesters in Rome. The demonstrations there were mostly peaceful, but tensions were high. In Serbia, student-led protests went even further — they helped remove the country's long-time leader from power through an election.

Experts say it is important not to treat all these protests as the same thing, even though they are happening around the same time. Andrew Barclay, a politics professor at the University of Sheffield in England, told NBC News that the French protests have been much larger and more focused than protests in other countries. He said other countries may have been inspired by France, but their protests have included a much longer list of complaints. He also warned against comparing protests in places like Germany to what happened in Serbia, where students organized against government corruption and helped change their country's leadership.