Mayor warns riot-hit shops of lost economic existence

One shop owner near the Konstablerwache puts his damage at 30,000 to 40,000 euros and reopens Monday. More than 100 officers were hurt after Halloween-night looting on the Zeil.

Mayor Josef warns that shop owners affected by the riots may lose their economic existence. Behind each of these shops, he said, are people, families and employees, and for some of them it may be about their economic existence. On Monday he will meet the main managing director of the Hesse trade association to discuss the consequences for the affected shops.

The unrest began on Halloween night, Saturday 31 October. A Gen-Z demonstration was largely peaceful when police dissolved it. After that, riots broke out in the city centre, with looters smashing shop windows and emptying shops. Police cleared and cordoned off the Hauptwache, the Konstablerwache and the Zeil on Saturday evening. The Zeil was temporarily cordoned off between the two squares with police vehicles. Later, events shifted toward Eschenheimer Tor and the Freßgass.

Jost Wiebelhaus runs a shop near the Konstablerwache that sells running shoes and gear. At around 22:58 on Saturday night, its alarm went off. The looters were inside at that moment. They had already shattered the 7.5 by 2 metre front window. Wiebelhaus said he came to the shop himself shortly before eleven. The police secured the area with support from the SEK, and no one was injured. He estimates the damage to his shop at 30,000 to 40,000 euros.

The Hesse trade association sharply condemned the riots but said the mostly peaceful youth demonstration must be separated from what came after. In its words, what it partly had to experience was a frenzy of violence and destruction, driven no longer by political protest but by an almost intoxicating joy in rioting and destroying for its own sake. More than 100 police officers were injured, one of them seriously according to one report. The police admitted their own mistakes in assessing the situation.

Wiebelhaus said he was moved by the huge wave of sympathy from customers, brands, Sport 2000 and many others. He will reopen the shop on Monday. The weekly running meetup will also take place on Monday evening. It may become a solidarity run, he said.