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MUNICH (AP) — Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to gather in Munich on Saturday as the major economic powers of the Group of Seven hold their annual rally in the Bavarian Alps in Germany, which holds the rotating G-7 presidency this year.
Police were expecting at least 20,000 protesters in the Bavarian city, German news agency dpa reported. Fifteen groups critical of globalization, from Attac to the environmental organization WWF, will take part in the demonstrations. Their various demands include the gradual exit from fossil fuels, the preservation of animal and plant diversity, social justice on the planet and a strengthened fight against hunger.
On Saturday morning, members of the anti-poverty organization Oxfam posed at a small protest in Munich wearing oversized heads of G-7 leaders demanding more global equality.
“We need concrete action to address the multiple crises of our time,” Oxfam spokesman Tobias Hauschild told The Associated Press. “That means the G-7 must act immediately. They must fight against hunger, inequality and poverty.
G-7 leaders – from the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan – are expected to begin arriving in Germany on Saturday afternoon and will discuss issues such as Russia’s war on Ukraine, climate change, energy and the impending food crisis.
“Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine is also having an impact here,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in his video podcast on Saturday, referring to rising food, gas and energy prices.
The Chancellor said the G-7 leaders would discuss the current war-triggered situation “and at the same time ensure that we stop man-made climate change”.
The G-7 summit will take place in Elmau in Bavaria from Sunday to Tuesday. Once the meeting is over, the leaders of the 30 countries of the NATO alliance will then gather for their annual summit, which will take place from Wednesday to Thursday in Madrid.
A total of around 18,000 police are deployed around the site of the summit and the protests.
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Grieshaber reported from Berlin.