Rioters looted retailers in central Frankfurt late on Saturday and clashes erupted with police there and in other German cities after largely peaceable mass protests over the value of dwelling.

Besides Frankfurt – Germany’s monetary hub – there were incidents of violence in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg, with police saying they used water cannon to disperse protesters who focused emergency employees with fireworks, stones and bottles.

Thousands earlier joined the demonstrations organised by the marketing campaign group Gen Z regelt – which means “Gen Z takes charge” – to protest against underfunding in faculties, the excessive value of dwelling, public spending cuts and navy service.

The unrest in Germany follows related youth-led mass protests in France, where more than 320,000 folks also demonstrated on Saturday.

A big part of Frankfurt’s predominant purchasing avenue was closed off by police, AFP information company reported. A police spokesperson said many arrests were made in the metropolis.

Authorities in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin reported as many as 18,000 protesters, roughly half of what the organisers had estimated on their web site.

Gen Z regelt spokesperson Lina Friedrich said the demonstrations were “to fight for peace and freedom, rather than for war and coercion”.

She said: “What matters most to us is better support for the health and education systems. We are against compulsory military service and we are in favour of a fairer distribution of the burden.”