Tens of thousands of students have taken to the streets this Friday in around a hundred locations across Germany to show their rejection of the reintroduction of compulsory military service in the country.
According to the organizers of the protests, more than 45,000 people have participated in this school strike against the return of the draft. In the absence of an official global balance, the Police have only provided partial attendance figures in some of the main cities, including Berlin.
In the German capital, security forces have estimated that about 2,400 people have taken part in the marches. In other large cities, the response has been smaller, with around 700 protesters in Munich and about 400 in Nuremberg.
"Young people do not want to enlist in the German Armed Forces," emphasized Bela Breitner, spokesperson for the protests, in statements to the DPA agency.
The regulation that governs the new model of military service came into effect last January. In this first phase, the plan focuses on recruiting volunteers born from 2008, who must undergo a mandatory medical examination and who, as planned, would not begin their service until July 2027.
If the recruitment targets set are not met with this voluntary system, the federal Parliament will have the authority to decide on the reintroduction of compulsory military service, which has been suspended in Germany since 2011.