Thousands rally in Berlin as Gen Z plans protests in 30 German cities

França se prepara para 'risco muito alto' de distúrbios em protestos de Halloween.

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Gathering at the Platz des 18 Maerz, on the west side of the capital’s iconic Brandenburg Gate on a sunny but chilly Saturday afternoon, there was support for the young people within a mixed demographic crowd.

Anti-fascist activists smoking hand-rolled cigarettes and wearing keffiyehs waited patiently alongside students dressed in Halloween outfits, smartly dressed grandmothers donning “omas gegen rechts” (grandmothers against the right) badges, and camera crews, ahead of the 2pm (13:00 GMT) rally start.

The protests were organised by a loose alliance called Gen Z Regelt (Gen Z sorts it), and by Saturday morning, nearly 180,000 people across 34 cities had signed up to participate – with the main host cities including Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich and the capital Berlin.

Quase 12. 000 pessoas haviam se inscrito para participar na capital alemã, e as pessoas continuavam a entrar na praça durante a demonstração para ouvir os palestrantes, em uma tarde ainda calma na capital.

However, at a rally in the western city of Cologne, scuffles broke out between protesters and police, who moved in to contain a march there.

Os organizadores da manifestação haviam delineado seis questões principais que os levaram às ruas no sábado, incluindo o aumento do custo de vida, cortes na educação e a conscrição militar.

Students told Al Jazeera that they are both angry and frustrated by ongoing funding cuts, even as the government invests heavily in the military.

Yet they also said they feel a sense of hope after seeing student protests in different parts of Europe in recent weeks.

Veronika Dinter travelled to Berlin on Friday night from Hannover to participate in the protest.

A estudante de ciência política de 23 anos disse que, devido aos altos custos de vida, ela precisou assumir um trabalho de meio período para custear seus estudos.

This is a sentiment that Emma Heymann, a 24-year-old student living in Berlin, resonated with.

Phil Tziartzianis travelled eight hours from his hometown of Kassel to join his friend Jan Chrominski and other young people at the demonstration.

Os manifestantes se juntam a uma onda de manifestações que tem varrido a Europa nas últimas semanas, incluindo França, Bélgica, Itália, Espanha e Sérvia.

Kilian Hampel é pesquisador sênior no Future of Work Lab da Universidade de Konstanz. Ele diz que outras manifestações estão tendo impacto nos jovens alemães.

The Berlin demonstration is expected to last two hours, with another one planned at 5:30pm (16:30 GMT) in a different part of the German capital.

In the past week, political figures have raised concerns about the protests turning violent.

Yet demonstrators say they see the narrative of violence distracting from the issues they want to raise.