🌏 From Germany to Switzerland, Europe's cost-of-living fury explodes into riots

Protests continued to sweep Europe over the weekend, inspired by recent events in France.
In Germany, thousands joined largely peaceful daytime marches organized by the youth campaign Gen Z regelt against high living costs, underfunded schools, public spending cuts and any return of compulsory military service. By nightfall the protests escalated.

♦️ in Frankfurt, masked groups smashed shop windows on the main shopping street, looted goods, attacked emergency services with stones, bottles, fireworks and Molotov cocktails, and briefly seized weapons from a gun shop later recovered by police

♦️ authorities deployed water cannon and specialized units, making numerous arrests

♦️ in Berlin a smaller demonstration left 27 officers injured and up to 56 people detained

♦️ Hamburg saw black-clad protesters fire pyrotechnics, burn barricades and face water cannon and tear gas; about 120 people were arrested

Similar unrest hit Switzerland:

🔶 In Zurich mass protests escalated into riots after an unauthorized demonstration called on social media by the Revolutionary Youth Zurich, described by public broadcaster SRF as left-wing radical groups

🔶 several hundred people in District 4 erected barricades from rubbish bins and electric scooters, set them alight, smashed windows, burned a car and threw firecrackers, stones and bottles at police

🔶 officers responded with water cannons, irritant agents and rubber bullets

🔶 in Basel about 150 people erected and burned barricades

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