Arabic version: ألمانيا وفرنسا تستعدان لاحتجاجات عيد الهالوين بشأن تكاليف المعيشة
According to The Guardian, street protests that have swept parts of Europe are expected to reach Germany and restart in France on Saturday, Halloween. Activists are calling attention to the cost of living and public services including education and housing, while police in both countries are preparing for potential disorder on the fringes of planned peaceful rallies.
In Germany, the loose alliance Gen Z regelt has called for demonstrations in more than 30 cities. Its demands include greater spending on schools, climate protection and housing, and opposition to plans to restore mandatory military service. More than 160,000 people had registered on the group’s website by Friday saying they planned to attend. About 10,000 people, mainly pupils, students and parents, are expected at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, with further rallies called in Cologne, Munich, Frankfurt and Hamburg.
Berlin police chief Barbara Slowik Meisel said an additional 1,500 officers would be deployed in the capital, while saying there was no concrete evidence of coordinated looting plans. Gen Z regelt urged participants to show restraint, saying its protest was peaceful and that violence conflicted with its aims. The federal pupils’ conference, however, said it would not join the demonstrations because the initiative’s organisational structure was unclear, and plans a separate Berlin protest on 20 November.
In France, interior minister Laurent Nuñez described Saturday as a “very high risk” day and said 70,000 police and gendarmes, including elite units, would be deployed. He said radical groups had issued online calls for violent Halloween gatherings after mainstream demonstrations ended. Authorities will authorise peaceful demonstrations but said most will not be permitted in city centres where there is a risk of public disorder. In Paris, two planned marches through the centre were banned and police authorised one march in the far south-east; organisers are challenging that decision.
France’s interior ministry said 410,000 people marched last Saturday. Unions and the gilets jaunes movement have joined pupils and university students in protests over low wages, living costs and deteriorating public services. A nationwide strike has also been called for 5 November.
