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GdP and social association see parallels to France
“In Germany, too, the rejection of democracy, the state and state authority is increasing,” says the national chairman of the police union (GdP), Jochen Kopelke. photo
© Wolfgang Kumm/dpa
After a deadly traffic stop, France does not rest for days. Observers also see the potential for riots in Germany – because the social gap is increasingly widening.
The police union (GdP) and the social association Germany (SoVD) see the violent protests against police violence France Parallels to social development in Germany. “Such riots are also conceivable in certain places in Germany, because the rejection of democracy, the state and state authority is also increasing in Germany,” said GdP federal chairman Jochen Kopelke of the Funke media group. In the cities in particular, more and more people are “losing out in the transformation of the world of work, in digitization or in the challenges of integration”.
SoVD CEO Michaela Engelmeier made a similar statement in the newspapers. “Here, too, many feel socially disadvantaged, if not already left behind,” she emphasized. Due to high price increases, it is just enough for more and more people for the essentials. It is therefore crucial that politicians take countermeasures. “Because already today, the feeling of not being represented is resulting in disenchantment with politics, a growing willingness to vote for parties on the fringes, and political extremism.”
However, both also emphasized that the situation in this country is not directly comparable with France. Since the death of 17-year-old Nahel by a police bullet during a traffic check last Tuesday, the country has been shaken by massive riots, especially at night. There were repeated looting, arson attacks and violent confrontations between police officers and rioters. More than 3,000 people have been arrested across the country since the riots began.