Mass anti-capitalist protests hit Germany

Inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protests in the United States, thousands of people marched across Germany on Saturday to protest against corporate power and growing social inequality.

In Berlin, more than 5,000 people rallied at the office of Chancellor Angela Merkel,
according to police estimates.
Protesters camped also at the nearby German parliament to show their outrage over
the influence of bankers and financiers.
In Frankfurt, around 5,000 people rallied at the European Central Bank (ECB)
building to protest capitalist greed, the perceived injustice of the international
capitalist system and the power of banks.
The Frankfurt demonstrators held up placards saying, ‘Stop the dictatorship of banks
and markets, ‘You are speculating with our lives,’ and, ‘You are gambling away our future.’
Protesters also set up tents outside the ECB and were prepared to camp out for the
next days.
All major German opposition parties had expressed solidarity with the demonstrators.
Activists are demanding an end to the free-wheeling ways of global financial players
whom they view as responsible for the present European and American economic woes.
Numerous other German cities, among them Munich, Cologne, Freiburg, Hamburg, Leipzig and Hanover, had also been the scene of peaceful anti-capitalist protests which according to activists were aimed at motivating ’99 percent of Germans’ to
complain about the actions of the wealthiest ‘1 percent.’
The ongoing global banking and financial crisis has triggered deep fears among Germans over their country’s future.
More than 15 percent of Germany’s total population of 81.7 million people are
facing imminent poverty, according to official figures.
Meanwhile, the number of German millionaires reached an all-time record high.
According to the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), the number
of German millionaires stood at 430,000.
Germany is ranked fifth in the international list of millionaires, while the US heads the millionaires’ ranking with 4.7 million people.