Europe has been left reeling after a night of protests on Halloween descended into violence.
Rioters in Germany looted shops and allegedly stole guns, while France launching an 'attempted murder' probe after a policeman was set alight
from a Molotov cocktails
Unrest spread to Portugal where protesters in Lisbon clashed with officers in the early hours of the morning.
In Frankfurt, a large section of the city's shopping area was closed off over the 'violent riots', with police confirming many arrests taking place overnight after special units were dispatched.
Water cannons were used to disperse the violent demonstrators who had begun throwing stones, bottles and fireworks at emergency workers.
'Around 100 clearly identified left-wing extremists' had crashed peaceful protests earlier in the fay, according to Roman Poseck, interior minister of Hesse state.
Several store windows had been smashed through in the country's financial district, including a shop selling guns and another selling trainers. A suspect was later arrested with police seizing two weapons.
Elsewhere in the country, Berlin's police said they were tackling 'the unpleasant side effects of Halloween' as bins and e-scooters became infernos in the clashes taking place in the capital.
A person dressed in a Batman costume stands in front of a burning trash dumpster in downtown Frankfurt
Police detain a demonstrator dressed as Batman during a nationwide protest by campaign group Gen Z regelt
People try to break a window of a store selling weapons, during a nationwide protest by campaign group Gen Z regelt in Frankfurt
Demonstrators pose with Halloween masks as they attend a protest under the slogan 'Gen Z Takes Care of It' in Frankfurt
A bus was the target of a pyrotechnic and a police van was graffitied amidst the chaos that saw 60 people arrested.
A separate demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate earlier in the day had taken place 'almost without incident', however the subsequent gathering Rosenthaler Platz saw 27 officers 'slightly injured' in a clash there.
Meanwhile in Cologne, officers were attacked by the main train station, with a bicycle and bottles launched at the police.
It was 'deeply saddening that young people who wanted to peacefully demonstrate for their future were infiltrated today by extremists who had nothing but violence in mind', Cologne's police chief Johannes Hermanns said.
'The rioters and looters will be identified and held accountable,' Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt was quoted as telling the Bild tabloid on Sunday. 'This breach of the peace must be followed by tough penalties.'
He accused 'violent left-wing groups and troublemakers from the migrant community' of hijacking the otherwise peaceful protests, without elaborating.
Frankfurt police put more than 30 individuals under temporary arrest, local broadcaster HR said, without giving details of those detained.
The minister said the police strategy of maintaining a large presence while deploying officers across multiple locations had worked.
'Excesses of violence like those in Paris were prevented thanks to our highly committed police forces,' Dobrindt, a member of the conservative CSU, said.
Riot police advance on protesters during a rally for the right to housing in Lisbon
Three weeks after they began in Porto, the protests for the right to housing continue, calling on the government to scrap the new rent law and adopt measures such as ending demolitions and evictions without providing alternative housing
Following several weeks of protests in France, yesterday's remained largely peacefully after extensive riots and looting on October 17 left a trail of damage to shops, public buildings and businesses.
However, France have launched an 'attempted murder' probe after an officer was engulfed in flames when being struck by a Molotov cocktail in a clash last night.
France's interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said around 150 demonstrations had passed peacefully on Saturday, but police had faced an 'extraordinary' level of violence from some rioters.
Describing the Molotov cocktail attack on the Paris officer as an 'attempted murder', he warned that the night was not yet over.
'We are fully prepared for those looking for confrontation,' he said.
Meanwhile, in Lisbon, police clashed with demonstrators at 4.30am who had set up a camp of more than 50 tents in Rossio square as they detained some of the protesters in an attempt to clear the area.
Thousands had earlier marched through the city demanding Portugal's centre-right government withdraw a controversial rental bill - which critics say would further deteriorate the country's housing crisis.
Police commander Luri Rodrigues had warned the protesters several times who had established a camp that if the illegally erected tents were not removed, they could face disobedience charges.
The disorder follows weeks of student demonstrations across Europe. More than 320,000 protesters are said to have joined marches across France as demonstrations over education funding have widened into a broader movement.
In Albania, student anger over high living costs and education underfunding have merged with demands for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign. Demos have become increasingly violent with protesters hurling paving stones, flares and petrol bombs at police.
In Germany, they also fear conscription, viewing the introduction of voluntary military service as a possible step towards compulsory service.
In Berlin, at least 56 people were arrested as protesters occupied tram lines, blocked roads and marched into the evening. Police used water cannons and pepper spray, with 27 officers injured.
Youth protest group Gen-Z Regelt! - meaning Gen-Z has got this - had called demonstrations in 34 German cities on Saturday.
Flames rise on riot policemen after a Molotov cocktail was thrown as clashes occur between protesters and riot police during a demonstration against rising living costs and cuts to public services in Paris, France, 31 October 2026
Protesters stand next to waste bins on fire during an anti-government demonstration in central Tirana, Albania
In Berlin, the Daily Mail watched as one young man was tackled to the ground by around ten police officers and dragged away, leaving a puddle of blood on the doorstep of a shop
An afternoon gathering beside Berlin's Brandenburg Gate passed largely peacefully.
But violence erupted during a separate evening march involving other groups, including large numbers of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, under the banner 'Gen-Z has had enough!'
The Daily Mail watched as one young man was tackled to the ground by around ten police officers and dragged away, leaving a puddle of blood on the doorstep of a shop.
Several others were also arrested, including at least one journalist reporting on the event.
Protesters waved signs that read 'Time for resistance', and 'Merz must go', in reference to the country's Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Alongside chants of 'free Palestine', there were also calls for 'anti-fascism', amid the rise of the far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The party has seen growing success in the East of the country, winning a recent state election in Saxony-Anhalt.
One man, a biology teacher, brought a deck chair to Rosenthalerplatz, where the Berlin march started.
He was swiftly hit by an egg, but remained undeterred as he told the Mail that he had come to understand the concerns of his 18-year-old students.
On the scenes of looting at French protests earlier this month, he added: 'Nobody needs so much luxury, but also, nobody has the right to destroy such stores.
'I don't think it's good what happened there, some people just like the violence.'
By 7.30pm, officers said that all those who refused to go home would face water cannons and arrest. The crowds, meanwhile, chanted 'shame on you' and 'all police are b*******'.
A French Gendarme who is partly burning runs in a street as facing protesters at the end of a protest march during nationwide demonstrations over the rising cost of living and inequality organised by Yellow Vest movement
Police run past a trash dumpster set on fire by protesters in downtown Frankfurt
Police officers take cover behind a vehicle with a Molotov cocktail fire during an anti-government demonstration in central Tirana on October 31, 2026
The protesters eventually trickled away, but officers remained on high alert on every street corner in the area.
In Germany, student protests were followed by clashes in several cities, with police deploying water cannons in Frankfurt after officers were pelted with stones and firecrackers.
At least one officer was injured during the unrest in the city, according to the local force.
Police later arrested one person and seized two weapons after the windows of a gun shop in central Frankfurt were smashed.
Officers secured the remaining weapons inside the premises.
As the violence continued into the evening, the force urged anyone not taking part in the protests to stay away from the city centre, warning that Molotov cocktails were being thrown at emergency personnel.
There were also reports of disorder in Cologne, where around 50 people were reportedly arrested following a demonstration in the city centre.
German broadcaster RTL reported that groups wearing dark clothing had been kicking walls, shouting and throwing pyrotechnics.
Water cannons were also used in Cologne and Hamburg, while officers in Leipzig deployed pepper spray. An officer in Bonn suffered minor injuries.
In Bremen, police said a march that began peacefully descended into disorder when some participants set off pyrotechnics and insulted officers.
Demonstrations were also held in Munich.
Protesters in La Plaine Square set up barricades in the side streets on October 31, 2026 in Marseille, France
Thousands of protesters gather in the evening in La Plaine Square, set up barricades, and clashed with police on October 31, 2026 in Marseille, France
Protesters clash with police officers during a demonstration organized by the 'GenZ regelt!' (Gen Z has got this!) initiative in Cologne, Germany
Berlin became the latest European capital to witness clashes as more than 3,500 demonstrators
In Berlin, at least 56 people were arrested as protesters occupied tram lines, blocked roads and marched into the evening. Police used water cannons and pepper spray, with 27 officers injured
Protesters wearing Halloween costumes pose in front of the French national flag during a demonstration in Lyon, central-eastern France on October 31, 2026
People clash with police in front of the Ministry of Education during a demonstration asking for the Prime Minister resignation in Tirana, Albania
Pictured: Protestors dressed up for Halloween in Berlin
Gen-Z Regelt! said some 120,000 people took part in demonstrations across Germany. Police said the main protests themselves had been 'very peaceful'.
Andreas Rosskopf, an official from the police union, told the Rheinische Post that officers had intervened 'very decisively and also forcefully' where violence did break out, adding that property damage had largely been avoided by the evening.
Gen-Z Regelt! said it explicitly rejected violence in Germany. 'Extremist groups, anti-constitutional symbols, racism and hate speech have no place with us – no matter from which side,' it wrote online.
In Albania, footage from the capital Tirana showed demonstrators throwing petrol bombs and paving stones at police.
Protests over insufficient education funding have become part of a wider movement demanding Rama's resignation, with demonstrations repeatedly descending into violence.
Meanwhile, French police arrested five people accused of attempting to loot a Foot Locker store in Marseille.
Police in the Bouches-du-Rhone prefecture said the suspects were caught trying to break into the shop's storerooms.
The French unrest began with demonstrations by high school students demanding the equivalent of around £9billion for the education system, before expanding to draw in groups ranging from trade unions to Black Bloc anarchists.
Demonstrations have also spread to countries including Italy, Portugal and Poland.
Source link
