03.11.2026
Volt im Römer demands a differentiated reappraisal and political engagement with the concerns of young people
Volt im Römer decidedly condemns the riots on Saturday, October 31, in the Frankfurt city center. There is no justification for attacks on police forces, property damage, and looting. Our solidarity goes out to all people who are affected by the violence and the devastation. At the same time, the predominantly peaceful demonstrators must not be held responsible for the acts of violent individuals.
“Individual public statements from police and politics deserve critical contextualization. Whoever attacks people or loots shops must be held accountable for these acts. Decisive, however, is the concrete behavior, because blanket attributions based on an actual or attributed origin help neither in the clarification nor in the prevention of further violence. Whoever once again narrows the debate to migration and the so-called cityscape, as the Hessian Interior Minister Roman Poseck, among others, has done in his public statements, risks placing entire population groups under general suspicion and contributes to social exclusion,” says Tiara Mengel, security policy spokesperson for Volt im Römer, and continues: “Discrimination and social inequality must finally be resolutely combated and social participation strengthened.”
Tim Englert, city councilor of Volt im Römer, was on site on Saturday as a demonstration observer and was thus able to get his own picture of the events. That the predominantly peaceful demonstration in Frankfurt and the riots must be viewed in a differentiated manner is particularly important to him. He says: “The majority of the demonstrators were peaceful. Whoever took part in the riots at night had no interest in expressing political opinions; those who rioted later predominantly did not participate in the demonstration march. To now question future demonstrations by the Gen-Z movement across the board sends the wrong signal. What is necessary is a differentiated assessment of concrete dangers, the protection of peaceful demonstrators, and consistent action against actual perpetrators of violence. A ban does not replace a factual engagement with the causes of the escalation.”
For Volt, a differentiated approach to the demonstration also includes taking the concerns of young people seriously. “We need a police force capable of acting and consistent criminal prosecution. But politics must also take responsibility for the framework conditions that it creates. We must ask how such disinhibition arises and how we can counteract it at an early stage. Young people need reliable support and real future opportunities. For this, we must invest in youth social work, education, and social participation. We want to talk to young people about which of their demands Frankfurt can concretely take up and open up real opportunities for them to have a say. Affordable living, good education, and social participation deserve political answers,” emphasizes Mengel.
Disclaimer: translated with the use of AI, quotes not authorized by the original author!
