Activists announce protest day: France's anger should be felt by Germany

The call comes via an Instagram Reel. "November 20th, everywhere in Europe" is written above the video showing students in a protest march in Paris. The account youth_strike has published it, together with student and youth groups from four countries: Sindicato de Estudiantes from Spain, Rete della Conoscenza from Italy, the Portuguese climate group Estudantes pelo Fim ao Fóssil, and YUNA, which calls itself "Democratic Youth" in Germany. Together they call for a "youth strike." What is entirely new is not the date. The manifesto for the "international youth strike" dates back to mid-September, i.e., to the time before the school blockades in France. It was signed by left-wing youth groups from twelve countries, including the Linksjugend Solid, the DKP-Jugend SDAJ, and the Falcons in Germany. They demand an end to rearmament, the abolition of compulsory military service, and the end of relations with "genocidal states like Israel." It is unclear who finances the campaign; their website has no imprint. YUNA also does not disclose this. The group calls itself a "pan-German socialist youth organization"; the imprint only lists an individual with the address of a postal service provider in Fulda. There is no registered association. From school to the street The movement began in France with holes in classroom walls, overcrowded classes, and a lack of teachers. Last weekend, alongside students and students, trade unionists, former Gilets Jaunes, and farmers marched. The Gilets Jaunes activist Jérôme Rodrigues had called for this on Instagram beforehand. The situation has not calmed down since then. There were also clashes in Paris on Sunday, and the number of arrests rose to more than 2000 according to media reports. In the evening, the French president Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation in a television speech. All felt anger and shame that evening, the president said. Future demonstrations should be more strictly monitored and, if necessary, banned. In the coming days, the government is to speak with student and youth associations. It remains open whether this announcement will also affect the planned protest days in November. Influencers, Snapchat, and the Trail to Tehran In France, there is now also a dispute about who incited the violence. According to sources from the police and the domestic intelligence service, influencers and bloggers have fueled the mobilization of rioters who were supported or spread by foreign powers. Iran, Russia, and Algeria are named, reports journalist Frédéric Martel in the public broadcaster France Culture. According to a report by the trade service La Lettre, the French authorities have found the handwriting of the Iranian leadership in videos of the street fights on X, several French-language accounts, for disinformation prevention and cybersecurity. According to Martel, this was coordinated via encrypted messengers and Snapchat. He himself observed the rioters filming themselves looting in Paris during the night. The live broadcasts had a compelling effect. The French investigative journalist Nora Bussigny has warned for a long time about such influence campaigns. Also, almost exclusively through Instagram, TikTok, and messengers, mobilization is happening for the protest day on November 20th. Paving stones in front of a burning newspaper kiosk: Rioters in the protests in Paris © Sebastiano Bacci/Imago Trade unions want to unite the anger Content-wise, the cause has long shifted. It is about prices, wages, and the question of what the state spends its money on. The major French trade unions want to unite the anger now. They call together for strikes and demonstrations on November 5th, for higher wages and pensions, as well as more money for schools and hospitals. They consider the demands of the students to be expressly justified. The European protest day on November 20th, in contrast, is currently based solely on student and youth groups. Education instead of rearmament The call for November 20th sharpens a contrast. It demands money for education and housing instead of for rearmament, as well as an end to compulsory military service. This touches a painful point. European governments have committed to significantly higher defense expenditures in NATO, while debts and interest burden the households. The tension between security needs and the citizens' claim to functioning public services is described by the BBC as the European basic problem, from France to Germany to Italy. It is particularly pronounced in France. State expenditures amount to around 57 percent of the economic output, while the tax burden is considered one of the highest in Europe. Blocked also in Berlin In Germany, the movement is currently small but growing. In Berlin, according to the portal jugendinfo.blog, students blocked the French Gymnasium last Friday, as well as the Andreas-Gymnasium in Friedrichshain. In Hamburg, the Max-Brauer-Schule was blocked a few days earlier. The students demand more money for the schools, no return of compulsory military service, and express solidarity with France. The protest is spread through the campaign "Gen Z regelt das" on social networks. Who will benefit from the movement In France, the protest has long been a factor in the election campaign. The left-wing LFI founder Jean-Luc Mélenchon has been advocating for a unity of struggles for years, and his deputies supported the students from the beginning. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu accuses the LFI of instrumentalizing the movement for the election campaign and only condemning violence in name. Someone else might benefit in the end. Marine Le Pen is leading in the polls for the presidential election in the spring. She has already announced that she will cut the French aid to Ukraine within six months and reduce the contribution to the EU budget. Macron, who cannot run again, warned her to remain humble. It is also raging in Brussels and Milan France is not alone with its anger. On the same weekend, clashes between young people and the police occurred in Brussels and Liège, where Belgium's Interior Minister Bernard Quintin spoke of organized violence. In Milan, according to the news agency Ansa, hundreds of mostly black young people occupied Piazza del Duomo, and there were riots in Turin and Bologna as well. In Portugal, trade unions took to the streets peacefully against high rents and prices. France is on fire: Who radicalizes the students? How do Islamists reach children – and the state fails Your opinion is important to us. Send your feedback on this article to us: briefe@berliner-zeitung.de