AreaRead the video transcript expand here
A demonstration on the verge of escalation.
Barely 300 meters from the cordoned-off town of Lützerath, activists got into heated arguments with police officers on Saturday afternoon.
Lukas Eberle, DER SPIEGEL
»In the past few hours, many hundreds of people have tried to climb the fence surrounding the village in Lützerath. They were participants in the demonstration at noon today and activists. At first they ran across the field one by one, then there were more and more of them, dozens, and finally hundreds. The fence is now guarded almost every meter by police officers. A cavalry squadron is in action, a dog squadron is in action. There were always hunting scenes between activists and police officers in the open field. A police spokesman just told me that nobody managed to get over the fence and get into Lützerath.«
Some demonstrators shoot fireworks at the officers, the police use water cannon and pepper spray – the situation largely calms down in the early evening.
Several participants were injured.
According to the organizer, 35,000 demonstrators were on site, the police spoke of up to 10,000.
The prominent climate activists Luisa Neubauer and Greta Thunberg also took part in the demo.
Greta Thunberg, climate activist
“What happens in Lützerath doesn't stay in Lützerath. As one of the biggest polluters in the world, Germany has a huge responsibility. But the powerful have not listened. This is just the beginning.”
The police meanwhile announced that the evacuation of Lützerath was largely completed, and several dozen people were still holding out in around 15 structures such as tree houses and sheds.
Two activists who have holed themselves up in an underground tunnel system are now to be brought out by THW.