More than 100,000 students in Germany protested against conscription — Anadolu Agency
More than 100,000 students in Germany took to the streets on Saturday to protest budget cuts and plans to restore military conscription. Protest participants demanded increased funding for education and social services instead of rising defense spending, Anadolu Agency reports.
In Berlin, the demonstration took place near the Brandenburg Gate. The Gen Z Regelt movement expected around 10,000 participants, but police said that up to 5,000 people were present at the peak of the rally. According to Berlin police, the event ended without serious incidents and with almost no incidents.
Demands regarding education
Protesters held signs calling for support for education, investment in people rather than war, and an end to cuts and military budgets. Participants said that years of spending cuts had led to a lack of funding in schools and problems in public services.
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Representatives of student associations also criticized the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz over plans for reforms in the healthcare and pension systems, as well as its approach to the climate crisis. A student named Michelle said she joined the protest because of the priority that, in her view, the government gives to big capital and the military budget over social spending.
Objections to military service
Some participants spoke out against a new military service law that provides for mandatory medical examinations. Critics of the initiative believe it could become a step toward introducing compulsory conscription in the near future.
Seventeen-year-old Anastasia said she was protesting primarily against compulsory military service and does not believe that further militarization is a way to resolve conflicts. Some participants also expressed solidarity with student movements in France, Belgium, and Italy. At the same time, the largest student organization, BSK, and the youth wing of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, Jusos, withdrew their support for the protests, citing insufficient transparency of the Gen Z Regelt initiative.
