Fridays for Future revive climate protests – DW – 11/14/2025

Germany’s regular bankruptcy filings increased by 6.5% in October 2025 compared with the same month last year, according to preliminary data released by the Federal Statistics Office.

The agency noted that filings appear in the data only after the initial court decision, meaning most applications were actually submitted about three months ago.

In August 2025, local courts recorded 1,979 corporate bankruptcies, an increase of 12.2% from August 2024. Creditors’ claims related to these cases totaled approximately €5.4 billion, more than double the €2.3 billion reported a year earlier.

On a per 10,000 companies basis, Germany recorded 5.7 corporate bankruptcies in August. The transportation and storage sector was most affected with 10.1 cases per 10,000 firms, followed by the construction sector with 8.9 cases and the hospitality sector with 8.2 cases.

Consumer bankruptcies also increased. Courts counted 6,132 cases in August, an increase of 8.1% compared to August 2024.

The Statistics Office emphasizes that insolvency statistics only reflect closures occurring through formal insolvency proceedings and do not include business closures for other reasons or before serious financial distress occurs.

German authorities launched a major operation overnight targeting suspected human smugglers and tax evaders in Baden-Wurttemberg and Berlin, officials said.

According to the Federal Police Office in Offenburg, 600 to 700 officers from customs, federal police and tax investigators were deployed. A Stuttgart police spokesman said Friday that several properties were searched and that the raids ended after several hours.

Police said they had no immediate information about the arrest but confirmed that preliminary evidence had been secured.

The operation focused on several sites in the south-western state of Baden-Württemberg – including Baden-Baden, Böblingen, Lörrach and several surrounding districts, with additional searches in Berlin.

Prosecutors in Baden-Baden launched an investigation, which focuses on suspected people-trafficking from non-EU countries and organized tax and wage fraud. Officials said more details would be released later Friday.

According to new data, cannabis consumption is continuously increasing in Germany.

The survey found that 9.8% of respondents said they had used cannabis in the past 12 months – up from 8.8% in 2021 and 4.5% in 2012.

The 2024 data was collected between August and December from 7,534 adults aged 18 to 64, a few months after the drug’s partial legalization.

Researchers from the Epidemiological Survey of Substance Abuse (ESA) said the increase was small and not statistically significant, noting that it was still too early to identify clear effects of the legal changes. He said there has been minimal change in usage patterns after the relaxation of the law.

Germany’s coalition government introduced partial legalization on April 1, 2024, allowing adults to smoke and grow limited amounts of cannabis under strict conditions. Individuals may grow up to three plants at home, store up to 50 grams (about 1.8 ounces), and carry up to 25 grams in public. Consumption will be prohibited near schools or playgrounds and in front of minors.

The law also allows non-commercial cannabis clubs of up to 500 members.

Fridays for Future climate activists are holding more than 60 demonstrations across the country as part of an international day of action linked to the UN climate conference in the Brazilian city of Belém.

In Berlin, protesters planned to gather in Pariser Platz with lanterns and an illuminated “Keep Your Promises” sign, the group said.

Organizers say that a decade after the Paris Agreement – ​​and after 30 rounds of global climate talks – “there has been no substantial progress on climate protection.”

“Even in 2025, emissions have increased again, and the planet’s habitability is in poor condition,” activist Luisa Neubauer told the dpa news agency.

“Germany has played the role of an aimless obstructionist in the global fight against the existential climate crisis,” he said.

Neubauer accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of deliberately making climate-friendly technologies such as heat pumps and electric cars more expensive.

“At the same time, the jobs and places of the future are emerging in other places with bold governments,” he said.

The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, commits countries to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The United Nations Climate Conference will continue till 21 November.

good day More from DW’s newsroom in Bonn thank you so much Join us as preparations for the Christmas market season are already underway in the city.

Across Germany, Fridays for Future activists are holding more than 60 protests to coincide with the UN climate summit in Brazil.

In Berlin, protesters gathered with lanterns and a glowing “Keep Your Promises” sign before marching through a government district.

Organizers are warning that even ten years after the Paris Agreement, real climate progress is too slow.

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