Protest-related Police Presence at City Mayor's Speech during May Rally in Dusseldorf
In the heart of Düsseldorf, on May 1st, a group of protesters disrupted the scheduled speech of Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller during a peaceful demonstration. The protesters, primarily union members and activists, used the occasion to voice their demands for better labor conditions, social justice, and support for workers' rights.
The protests, a common sight on International Workers' Day in Germany, were organised from Gewerkschaftshaus on Friedrich-Ebert-Straße. The unions' motto for the protests was "Stand up with us", and the demonstrations highlighted union demands as part of the demonstrations.
Among the protesters were representatives from SPD, Greens, Left Party, Youth Against the Far Right, International Youth, and communist-revolutionary groups. The focus during the disruption was on Mayor Keller, with accusations of him being a lobbyist for Rheinmetall, wanting to bring a weapons fair to Düsseldorf, and "cuddling" with the AfD.
Mayor Keller was scheduled to give a greeting, but was blocked by a group of protesters. The protests marched through the city center along the Rhine to Johannes-Rau-Platz, where traditionally around 60 groups, initiatives, associations, parties, and trade unions had set up their stands. Sigrid Wolf, chairperson of the DGB city association Düsseldorf, gave a welcome speech at the family festival organised by the DGB.
The DGB, the umbrella organization of German trade unions, called for funds to be made available for public transport, housing construction, climate protection, social security, schools, and digitalization. They also demanded a fair tax system, with workers not being taxed more than those who only let their money work for them. The DGB further called for the reintroduction of wealth tax and the introduction of an inheritance tax without special provisions for wealthy business heirs.
Following the disruption, some union-led groups and activists held further actions to press their demands and assert their presence in the city’s political discourse. The protests did not escalate to violence and aimed to express demands peacefully, in line with recent movement tendencies emphasizing non-violent direct action.
However, detailed information on exact union demands or the mayor’s response was not present in the available current sources. For more precise or updated details on the exact nature of union demands or follow-up official actions after the disruption of the mayor’s speech, it may require consulting specific local news reports or union communications from May 1, 2025, which are not contained in these search results.
[1] Non-violent direct action: A method of achieving social or political change by seeking to persuade others through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, and acts of peaceful resistance.
The protests, organized by unions from Gewerkschaftshaus on Friedrich-Ebert-Straße, extended their reach beyond labor conditions and social justice, also incorporating politics into their demands, as evidenced by the activities of various political parties and communist-revolutionary groups present.
The Düsseldorf General-News coverage on May 1, 2025, highlighted the union's political agenda, emphasizing non-violent direct action to press their demands and assert their presence in the city’s political discourse, including calls for funds, tax reform, and wealth redistribution.
