Thousands of people want to take to the streets in Munich on Saturday. 15 groups critical of globalization called for the large-scale demonstration one day before the start of the G7 summit in Elmau. At least 20,000 people are expected when the protesters set out at 12 noon on Theresienwiese. If the weather is nice, it could be significantly more, the police predicted, which also expects a black block.
As in 2015, the G7 summit will be held at Schloss Elmau in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. From June 26th to 28th, the heads of state and government of seven leading Western industrialized countries and some guest countries will meet there. In addition to Germany, the G7 group includes the USA, Canada, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan. A total of around 18,000 police officers are on duty around the summit.
15 anti-globalisation associations from Attac to the environmental organization WWF have called for the demonstration in Munich. The rally has four focal points: the exit from fossil fuels, the preservation of animal and plant diversity, social justice on the planet and the fight against hunger. “Climate crisis, extinction of species, inequality: The G7 countries are responsible for the fact that the global social and ecological crises are getting more and more dramatic. Stop it. There’s a different way to be fair,” says the call for participation.
“We expect it to be a peaceful, colorful and beautiful demonstration,” emphasized the organizer of the rally, Uwe Hiksch from the Friends of Nature. The Campact association, which specializes in online campaigns, Greenpeace, the Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation, Misereor and Bread for the World are also involved.
Munich police are on site with 3,000 officers
According to the Munich police, who want to ensure a peaceful process with around 3,000 emergency services, a black block of up to a high three-digit number of people could cause unrest. The nationwide mobilization is not as strong as at the G7 summit seven years ago, it said. The international mobilization could also be influenced by the subsequent NATO summit in Madrid and be less strong than in 2015. At that time, around 35,000 participants came to the central demonstration in Munich.
The Munich police have already announced that they will not tolerate “disruptions caused by violence, damage to property and other violations of the law” just as little as street blockades or disruptive actions. An incident on Wednesday suggests that not all G7 critics would be able to express their protest exclusively peacefully: eight police cars were set on fire in Munich. According to the police, there is some evidence that the perpetrator or perpetrators come from the extreme left spectrum.
More than 200 people had already gathered in Munich on Friday to join “Fridays for Future” on the occasion of the G7 summit for a haircut for the Global South and for the campaign Debt for Climate to demonstrate.