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Police car at the German-Austrian border
Photo: Matthias Schrader/AP
According to the police, the demonstration against the G7 summit announced for Saturday in Munich could be larger than initially expected.
In good weather, more than the 20,000 registered participants could come, said Munich's operations manager and police vice president Michael Dibowski at the presentation of the police operation concept in the Bavarian state capital.
He also expects a black block, said Dibowski.
Regarding the size of the group, the head of operations said he expected a strength of up to a high three-digit number of people.
However, the mobilization is not as strong as at the G7 summit seven years ago.
It mainly runs throughout Germany.
The international mobilization could also be influenced by the subsequent NATO summit in Madrid and be less strong than in 2015, said Dibowski.
35,000 participants came to the 2015 demo
Around 3,000 police officers are to ensure a peaceful process.
A total of 18,000 officials are deployed around the G7 summit in Elmau.
As in 2015, the major political event will take place at Schloss Elmau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the meeting will run from June 26th to 28th.
Around 35,000 participants came to the central demonstration in Munich seven years ago.
The police union had recently announced that it did not expect a block of autonomists to take part in the protests against the summit.
After the arson attack on eight police cars in Munich on Wednesday, however, the security authorities are alarmed.
The police said on Thursday that the incident would continue to be investigated in all directions.
It is not yet possible to say whether the perpetrator came from the left-wing extremist spectrum - but there is a lot to be said for it.
The alleged attack was celebrated by the left-wing scene on social media.
When the summit participants arrive and during the demo on Saturday, traffic jams and disruptions are to be expected.
Dibowski called on the demonstrators to present their protest peacefully.
There is room for “creative and peaceful forms of demonstration”.
"The Munich police will not tolerate disturbances caused by violence, damage to property or other violations of the law."
fek/dpa
