climate activists
It’s glued again: the last generation disrupts traffic nationwide
A member of the Last Generation protest group during a sit-in at the Elbepark motorway exit in Dresden. The activist wears a mask with the portrait of Chancellor Scholz
© Robert Michael / DPA
The climate activists of the Last Generation group paralyze traffic in many German cities at important points. Some activists wear masks worn by members of the federal government.
Climate activists of the last generation have blocked traffic in several German cities at important points. In Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden or Braunschweig, protesters glued themselves to the road on Friday – some wore masks showing Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). They held up banners that read, “We’re breaking the law.” According to the group, the reason for the protest was the “breach of the climate protection law by the government”.
Last generation wants to protest in 26 cities
According to the latest generation, at least 36 sit-ins were planned in 26 cities throughout Germany. “The federal government is breaking the law and leading our society to collapse,” said the group’s spokeswoman, Carla Rochel. “It is our democratic duty to resist peacefully.”
In Berlin, the Traffic massively blocked. Among other things, more than a dozen activists protested at the roundabout around the Victory Column, as a dpa reporter observed. Several people stuck to the road there, blocking Hofjägerallee and Straße des 17. Juni in the direction of the Brandenburg Gate. According to the dpa reporter, numerous drivers tried to avoid the blockade by driving on the sidewalks. After a good hour, traffic at the Victory Column was back to normal.
The last generation announced that there were also actions near Berlin Central Station. According to the police, activists also temporarily blocked traffic at the Dorotheenstrasse/Ebertstrasse intersection in Mitte, not far from the Reichstag building. There was also a sticking action on a street in downtown Potsdam.
Climate activists paralyzed Hamburg and Düsseldorf airports on Thursday
In Dresden, six activists blocked Washingtonstrasse in the direction of the city center, the police said. Some of them glued themselves to the street. In the north of Leipzig, protesters blocked Bundesstraße 2. Both sit-ins were ended by the police.
In Braunschweig, activists blocked a street in the city center during rush hour. There was criticism of this from the Lower Saxony state government. “According to the Prime Minister, this is harmful to climate protection,” said a spokeswoman for Stephan Weil (SPD). Climate protection is a major task for society as a whole. “If you then antagonize large parts of society, that doesn’t help the cause.”
On Thursday, activists paralyzed the airports in Hamburg and Düsseldorf for several hours by overcoming the fences, running onto the runways and sticking themselves near the runways. In Hamburg, air traffic was completely suspended for a few hours on the first day of vacation. Several flights were diverted or delayed in Düsseldorf.