The berlin police took action during walpurgis night and on 1. May arrests 123 suspected criminals, up from 161 last year. 124 police officers were injured during the riots – most of them by throwing stones and bottles, as acting police chief margarete koppers said on wednesday. In 2011 there had been about 100 injured civil servants.
Interior senator frank henkel (CDU) spoke of a successful operation, but not of a success: "berlin has had an extended weekend, which had a lot of light, but was not without shadows."The 7,000 officers had acted prudently: "the police did a difficult but very good job".
On tuesday evening, as in previous years, the so-called revolutionary 1. May day demonstration in kreuzberg violence broke out. Police officers attacked with bottles and stones. Firecrackers were rounded off, mull containers burned down. Damage occurred at a bank branch, two gas stations and a supermarket.
The police broke up the demonstration early after a good two hours at the request of the leader of the demonstration, after the violence had escalated in front of the jewish museum. Originally, the procession wanted to move on to the government district in berlin-mitte for the first time under the motto "the pressure is rising – for the social revolution.
After the demonstration was dispersed, demonstrators dressed mainly in black played a cat-and-mouse game with the emergency services for several hours. Several storers were arrested and several officers injured. These riots are a relic "that some won’t or can’t put down," henkel said. The overwhelming majority of citizens had celebrated peacefully.
Wowereit and interior senator frank henkel (CDU) were satisfied with the police’s actions. Henkel had stuck to the strategy of previous years: the police held back as long as things remained peaceful, but in the event of violence, they took firm action.
The hamburg police were also satisfied: "it was calmer than in previous years," said spokesman holger vehren. Here, police arrested 28 demonstrators and detained 17 – also significantly fewer than in 2011.
In hamburg’s schanzenviertel, the revolutionary 1. May day demonstration on tuesday evening leads to isolated riots. Police officers were attacked, mull containers burned, firecrackers were rounded up. Around the alternative cultural center rote flora, police used water cannons several times.
Under the slogan "no alternative to revolution!"A good 1,400 demonstrators – some of them hooded – had previously been arrested by st. Pauli moved into the district of ottensen. Participants had already thrown bollards at the emergency forces and lit bengal fires. More than 1,000 officers formed a dense police line; the equestrian squadron was also deployed. Five officers were injured.