On May 1st there were rallies by radical groups in several large cities. For the most part, the protests passed without major incidents. The police intervened in Hamburg and Stuttgart.
On Labor Day, there were clashes with the police during demonstrations by radical groups in several German cities. Overall, the protests, mostly left-wing and left-wing extremist demonstrators, were mostly moderate up to the evening compared to previous years.
Hooded people delay the start of the demo in Hamburg
At a demonstration organized by anarchists in Hamburg, officials surrounded a group of several dozen masked people. A black block of around 150 people had previously delayed the march by refusing to remove their masks.
According to the police, a total of around 1,000 people took part in the demonstration by the “Black-Red May 1st” alliance. After the intervention of the police, the leader of the meeting broke up the rally. Together with similar demos, the number of participants in the Hanseatic city was around 5000.
Anti-Israel Laundry in Berlin
The so-called “Revolutionary May Day” demonstration in Berlin started in the early evening with several thousand people. The train ran from Neukölln past a new police station at Kottbusser Tor in Kreuzberg, but ended prematurely. The organizer justified this with the police presence, it said. The police spoke of around 12,000 participants, the organizers of 20,000.
Various blocks, including many participants dressed in black, formed up. Occasionally Bengalos or firecrackers were ignited. Palestinian flags were also seen and anti-Israel chants were heard. The Jewish Forum rated some calls on Twitter as anti-Semitic. The police had planned a total of 6,300 emergency services for Monday.
Pyrotechnics and smoke bombs in Stuttgart
At a similar “Revolutionary May Day” demonstration in Stuttgart, the police said they had to intervene several times. A police spokesman said that activists from the left-wing extremist spectrum had masked themselves, did not pass on conditions and drowned out announcements by officials with loud music. After throwing a red smoke bomb, the officers used pepper spray. According to the police, several people had to be treated for eye irritation.
The organizer ended the rally, demonstrators are said to have ignited pyrotechnics again. Earlier, some left-wing extremist protesters threw smoke bombs at regular Labor Day rallies, a police spokesman said. The officers used pepper spray and batons.