Tens of thousands of protesters in six German cities gathered on Saturday to demand a more just distri-bution of government funds to deal with rising en-ergy prices and living costs and a faster transition away from fossil fuels.
Protesters marched in Berlin, Duesseldorf, Han-nover, Stuttgart, Dresden and Frankfurt-am-Main, holding signs bearing slogans on everything from lowering inflation to switching off nuclear power and more energy price subsidies for the poor.
Around 24,000 people participated, according to Greenpeace, one of the organisers. Police said about 1,800 protesters gathered in Berlin.
“We want to show that we urgently need finan-cial relief for citizens that is socially balanced. The government is doing a lot but it is distributing funds with a watering can. People with lower income need more support than the wealthy,” said Andrea Kocsis, deputy chair of ver.di, one of the unions organising the protests.
Germany’s parliament on Friday approved the government’s 200 billion euro ($195 billion) rescue package which aims to protect companies and households from the impact of soaring energy prices.—AP
