A day before the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau, a number of organizations gather in Munich to protest. But at the beginning of the rally, interest is significantly lower than expected.
Significantly fewer people than expected came to the central demonstration for the G7 summit in Munich on Saturday.
More than two hours after the start of the event, the police spoke of around 4,000 participants, and the organizers said there were 6,000 protesters. At least 20,000 people were originally expected.
A spokeswoman for the organizers said that an estimate would only be possible after the beginning of the subsequent demonstration. The rally on the Theresienwiese initially serves to collect the participants. In the case of such demos lasting several hours, many participants often only join in the course of the event.
However, some activists were already surprised at the Theresienwiese and surprised at the low number of visitors. “We are disappointed,” said 46-year-old Andrea from Greenpeace in Hanover. It seems as if only organizations are on site, but no one from the population. “The weather isn’t that bad,” she said.
So far no serious incidents
The demo took place one day before the start of the summit in Elmau. According to the Munich police, there were no reportable incidents until shortly before the rally began.
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, species extinction, inequality: the G7 countries are responsible for the fact that the global social and ecological crises are becoming ever more dramatic. Stop it. Fair is different », it says in the call for participation.
“For us, that’s the clear limit”
“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. The managing director of Greenpeace Germany, Martin Kaiser, also emphasized that the protest in Munich must be non-violent. “For us, that’s the clear limit,” Kaiser told the “Passauer Neue Presse”.
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) also called on the critics of the G7 summit to promote non-violence. “I expect all demonstrators to protest peacefully, not hurting anyone and not destroying cars or shops,” Faeser told the news portal t-online. Groups from the left-wing extremist scene caused her the greatest concern.
Munich police with 3000 forces in action
According to the Munich police, who want to ensure a peaceful process with around 3,000 emergency services, a black block with 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.
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.
