More than 180,000 students protested across more than 30 German cities on Saturday against the Government’s social spending cuts and plans to reactivate compulsory military service, in a national mobilization convened by the Gen Z Regelt platform.

In Berlin, thousands gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate, where the capital’s police reported a maximum attendance of 5,000 people at the peak of the event. Protesters carried banners directed at the national Administration, including “Chancellor Merz must leave,” “Your austerity policy is costing our future,” “No to cuts and war budgets,” “Let’s support education,” “Let’s invest in people, not in war,” “Listen to Generation Z” and “Berlin saves, the rich laugh.”

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Representatives of university and school student groups directly questioned Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s management, criticizing his proposals to reform the health and pension systems, as well as his handling of the climate crisis. They rejected the entry into force of legislation imposing mandatory medical examinations for military service, which they consider the previous step toward reimplementing forced recruitment.

After the protest ended, violent incidents were reported. In Cologne, police ordered the march to be suspended because some participants had their faces covered and because of the use of pyrotechnics, which also forced the use of water cannons. Clashes were also reported in Frankfurt.

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