French-Style Riots Erupt in Germany as Far-Leftists Clash with Police in Frankfurt and Hamburg

French-inspired leftist riots have broken out in Germany, with police coming under attack in cities including Frankfurt and Hamburg as darkness descended on the country. A disparate group of leftist organisations staged “Gen Z Takes Charge” protests in around 30 cities throughout Germany on Saturday. According to public broadcaster NDR, groups who took part in the demonstrations included animal rights activists, communist and socialist organisations, vegans, and pro-Palestine campaigners, among others. The protests, which were held in a bid to emulate the youth revolt that has thrown France into chaos in recent weeks, were staged against the prospect of a return to military conscription, as well as to protest against various left-wing causes including climate change, to demand more educational funding, to show displeasure with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and to show displeasure at rising living costs. 31 October 2026, Hesse, Frankfurt/M.: Police are pushing back against demonstrators. The “Gen Z Takes Charge” initiative had called for protests in about 30 cities on October 31. Photo: Florian Wiegand/dpa (Photo by Florian Wiegand/picture alliance via Getty Images) While police in Hamburg ordered the demonstration to end at 5 pm local time, many refused to go home and began clashing with police. The broadcaster reported that rioters gathered around the central bus station in Hamburg, with agitators throwing glass bottles, fireworks, and paving stones at officers. They also built makeshift barricades and set them on fire. Many of those engaged in battle with the police were seen dressed in black and wearing masks. Meanwhile, a truck following the demonstrators urged them to continue to clash with police from a loudspeaker, which proclaimed that they were against the system, police, and the state. “We are still patrolling the area because small groups are still out trying to throw small items into the street and set them on fire. And we are preventing that,” a police spokesman told NDR. The Hamburg State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution both warned prior to the demonstration that there was a strong likelihood of far-left groups seeking to exploit the protests for violent ends, including the Open Antifascist Meeting Hamburg, the Red Construction, the Interventionist Left, and Thawra Hamburg. This has also been the case in neighbouring France, where intelligence services have estimated that there are around 5,000 far-left trained Antifa agitators who infiltrate left-wing protests. Their aim has apparently been to spark unrest by attacking police or government buildings, while the less organised multicultural youth served as the main looting force. This pattern was also replicated in Milan, Italy earlier this month. People wave an antifa flag as they attend a demonstration organised by “GenZ regelt!” (Gen Z has got this!) in Frankfurt am Mian on October 31, 2026. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP via Getty Images) Separately, multiple police officers were injured during a demonstration in Frankfurt, with the Hesse Interior Ministry saying that “one officer may have sustained more serious injuries, but this still requires further investigation.” The local ministry said that they “estimate there were approximately 100 left-wing extremist perpetrators. They launched a massive attack on the police with bottles, stones, and pyrotechnics.” The far-left protests in France have also started to turn violent, with rioters being filmed throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers. The government deployed some 70,000 officers and gendarmes to help police the Halloween demonstrations in Paris and elsewhere. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez claimed that the operation had been a success overall, but admitted that “as expected, in each procession groups of vandals and looters led by the radical far-left movement attacked the security forces.” He said that at the time of this reporting there had been 422 arrests. Follow Breitbart London on Facebook: Breitbart London