By Mareike Druenkler
Party protest at Ostkreuz! Around 10,000 people made a pilgrimage to Friedrichshain’s Elsenbrücke on Saturday to demonstrate against the expansion of the A100, or rather to dance against it…
Their goal: “Bass away A100. Environmental protection instead of car dirt”.
The Club Commission Berlin, the network of Berlin club culture, had called for the protests together with the environmental association BUND, the citizens’ initiative A100 and Fridays for Future. But their real goal, to stop the expansion of the city highway to preserve the environment and club culture, soon became secondary.
“A lot of people are just here to celebrate. That’s a shame. Environmental protection concerns us all,” says Miloš C. disappointed. The 25-year-old was part of the bicycle demo and had already made several laps around the Federal Ministry of Transport in the afternoon to draw attention to the “grievance”. Photo: Olaf Wagner
The subway builder from Prenzlauer Berg has little sympathy for the party-loving Berliners, who turned the demo into a party protest. “But the bike demo was a success. In the beginning we were just a few people, in the end there were several hundred,” the 25-year-old continues.
While Miloš C. and his comrades-in-arms made their way home, the streets near the Elsenbrücke became more and more crowded. According to the police, the number of participants had more than doubled by the late afternoon. A “peaceful protest without incident,” the police said.
Among them were friends Saskia Ritter (24) and Leoni Münzner (23): “We came here spontaneously. To be honest, we don’t know exactly what it’s about. But we are definitely in favor of protecting the environment and preserving the club culture!” Photo: Olaf Wagner