Frankfurt violence splits Merz coalition after 100 police injured

Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition split after more than 100 police officers were injured in Frankfurt following Gen Z protests on Oct. 31, Deutsche Welle said in a Nov. 5 report.

The argument puts migration, policing and youth discontent into the same political fight in a country where 31% of residents have a migration background, compared with more than 50% in Frankfurt, according to Destatis figures cited by DW.

The protests were called by Gen Z regelt, an initiative whose name roughly means Gen Z takes charge. DW said tens of thousands of young people joined largely peaceful rallies demanding better education, cheaper housing and stronger climate action.

The violence after the Frankfurt demonstration included damaged and looted shops, DW said. The situation also escalated in Cologne, Hamburg and Berlin, according to the report.

Hesse Interior Minister Roman Poseck, a CDU politician, said most people arrested were German citizens, but added: "This group of offenders was predominantly from a migrant background." Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the CSU said: "There were peaceful demonstrations, which into the evening were hijacked by violent left-wing groups and migrant hooligans."

Merz backed Dobrindt’s assessment through spokesperson Stefan Kornelius, who said it was based on observations by investigators and emergency workers and matched images seen by the public. In a speech script cited by DW, Merz said: "Violence does not belong on our streets, and my government will show no tolerance here."

Social Democrats in the governing coalition accepted that crimes had occurred but objected to broad labels. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told ZDF: "What then are ‘migrant groups'?" He added: "Does that include people in the third generation living in Germany and who are German citizens?

When do we stop drawing this distinction?"

Natalie Pawlik, the federal government’s integration commissioner and an SPD politician, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that automatically assigning riots to migrant milieus was too simple. She said crimes must be punished, while also naming possible issues such as limited prospects, marginalization and integration problems if investigations support that.

Karin Prien, the CDU family and education minister, also called for a closer look at causes. She told Deutschlandfunk that stirring resentment would be politically wrong, while saying the issue should concern authorities if perpetrators were found to have migrant backgrounds.

Poseck has raised the possibility of banning further Gen Z protests, saying organizers did not have the gatherings under control. The organizers rejected the accusation and said they had immediately distanced themselves from violence.

Germany’s Family Affairs Ministry said Prien was due this week to meet representatives from the Federal School Students Council and the German Education Union. Further Gen Z demonstrations are planned for Nov. 20.

During the week of Nov. 5, Prien’s planned meeting with the Federal School Students Council and the German Education Union will show whether the government shifts attention back to youth demands after the violence.

On Nov. 20, the planned Gen Z demonstrations will test whether authorities impose restrictions and whether organizers can prevent a repeat of the clashes reported after Oct. 31.