Ob Berlin, Regensburg or Pass; It doesn’t matter whether it’s sitting, glued or concreted: climate activists from the group “Paskutinė karta” paralyzed almost 500 streets this year. The Interior Ministry and the Constitutional Protection Service are taking the protests seriously, and the CDU wants to crack down.

Climate protesters from the Last Generation group have blocked hundreds of roads across the country this year. This was the result of a survey by the Welt am Sonntag of the police authorities of the federal lands. Berlin reported 149 blockades, Hesse 34, Baden-Württemberg 17, Bavaria 8, Saxony 5, Brandenburg 4, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bremen 3 each. Hamburg reported as many as 213 group “actions” including meetings . In Berlin alone, 310 men and women were arrested and 67 criminal cases were opened.

In Berlin in particular, blockades caused significant disruption to suburban traffic by climate demonstrators who often stuck their hands to the asphalt. The group is demanding more action from the federal government to combat climate change.

“The Last Generation Takes Summer Vacation”

Last week, the group announced it would end the blockade in the summer. Actions are planned to continue in the fall. A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior told Welt am Sonntag that the department is taking the announcement of new campaigns in the autumn very seriously.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is also monitoring the growing influence of left-wing extremists in the climate movement. “Left extremists from different parts of the scene are trying to shift democratic discourses, supplement them with their ideological positions, radicalize social protest and delegitimize the state and its institutions,” said the newspaper’s representative. Violent left-wing extremists are also using action alliances to influence protests.

CDU calls for ‘preventive care’

CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja called for tougher action against the demonstrators. “Like hooligans, blockers must be consistently and as long as possible kept in preventive detention before announcing actions,” Czaja told Welt am Sonntag. afp/dpa/jra