

When was the last riot in Germany that was similar in severity to what they seem to frequently have in Paris?

The riot must have been an anti-government rally in some form and caused a fair amount of property damage. Please cite the date(s) and the primary cause of the riot.

1 Answer

  • 10 years ago
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    Germans do not tend to riots. This is more a French "tradition". However, we had in Germany also violent protests. But you should think more in terms of some crazy people combating with police, but not in terms of burning cars or throwing refrigerators out of windows against police.

    An exception are riot-like demonstrations that take place in Berlin always on May, 1st. This are traditionally political left oriented people and it takes place in Berlin, Kreuzberg, one of the more interesting but poorer parts of the city.

    In 1976 and 1981 we had rather violent protests against a nuclear power plant that should be build in Brokdorf. Violent means that in 1981 about 120 police and about the same number protesters were badly injured. But this was not something like burning houses or so.

    In Wackersdorf we had protests of more than 100000 also against a nuclear power plant or better recycling plant. In 1986 German police used the first time tear gas there (CS-gas). Some police cars were burnt, one police officer died (helicopter accident) and two protester (one heart attack, one due to asthma as a result of the tear gas). Several hundred were injured on both sides. Media used sometimes the term "civil-war-like protests".

    Of course we had the student protests of the 1968-ies.

    Right now there are protests against a new railway station in Stuttgart which became sometimes violent. One protester lost his eyes after being hit by a water canon.

    But all this is not to compare with riot-like protests in France. The Germans tend to think that French politicians ignore their people and esp. their social problems unless violence forces them to listen and to act. Germans proud themselves of something we call "social peace", so basically you can visit any place in Germany at any time without becoming a victim of violence.

    Source(s): I am German, incidents from memory and then checked in German wikipedia
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