An attack on a car dealership in the Riederwald district of Frankfurt could be related to the upcoming evacuation of the protest camp in the Fechenheim forest.
According to the police, unknown perpetrators damaged 14 new vehicles in the outdoor area of the car dealership on Am Riederbruch street during the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
Parts of the glass facade of the car dealership were also destroyed.
The damage is around 300,000 euros.
Alexander Juergs
Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.
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Mechthild Harting
Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.
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An anonymous letter claiming responsibility for the crime can be found on the Indymedia internet platform, which is primarily used by radical left-wing groups.
It states that the attack is a sign of solidarity with the occupiers in the Fechenheim forest who are threatened with eviction.
In fact, they want to set an example against the "unnecessary capitalist logic of individual luxury cars and endless highways".
The Frankfurt police are currently checking whether the letter is authentic or not.
She's also looking for witnesses to the night's crime.
The occupiers of the forest, who are fighting against the construction of a motorway tunnel that has been decided for decades, have not yet commented on the attack on the car dealership.
In their camp, they prepared for the upcoming evacuation, which they called "Day X".
There are now more squatters there than at the turn of the year, but they do not want to give an exact number.
In the meantime, additional wooden obstacles have been built on the paths into the forest where they have built their tree houses and platforms.
They are aware that they will not be able to prevent the planned evacuation, but they want to make it “as difficult as possible” for the police.
Eviction on Thursday at the earliest
There are many indications that the eviction will not begin until Thursday at the earliest.
Before that, the Frankfurt police want to inform parliamentary observers and journalists about the plans for the eviction.
The police will speak to the parliamentarians on Monday, and the appointment with the press is on Wednesday.
A "comprehensive communication with all actors" is an essential element of the operational concept.
The task of parliamentary observers is to document and monitor the actions of the security forces during demonstrations or blockades.
In conflict situations, they try to mediate between activists and the police.
Not only members of the state parliament, but also many local politicians from the city council and the local advisory councils have announced that they will be clearing the Fechenheim forest.
It is difficult to estimate how long it will take for the forest to be cleared.
The harder the activists resist, for example by chaining themselves to trees, the longer the evacuation is likely to be.
However, a week-long eviction as in the Dannenröder forest should not be imminent, since the area in which the squatters are
They will probably also not succeed in attracting many climate protectors from other parts of Germany to Frankfurt: the actions of the climate protest movement are currently concentrated entirely on the North Rhine-Westphalian town of Lützerath.
The village is to be demolished for a lignite opencast mine.
At the moment, no one can say how strong the support for the activists will be from Frankfurt initiatives, associations and citizens during the eviction.
It was only recently that an alliance of around 250 citizens called for protests on the day of the eviction.
This Saturday there will be a demonstration to preserve the forest, which will end with a human chain on Rathenauplatz in the city center.
The federal Autobahn GmbH has now fulfilled all the formal requirements to prepare for the felling of initially 2.2 hectares of forest in the next few days.
A week ago, the company, which now owns the forest, announced that it would block the total area of 2.7 hectares of forest intended for clearing from this Friday until January 31.
This also resulted in a ban on use and entry.
Initially, 0.5 hectares will be spared from clearing because individual areas and trees are suitable as habitats for the long-horned beetle.
The security area requested by the Autobahn GmbH, which also includes a forest strip of 90 meters north and south of the clearing area, can now also be blocked, although it is not owned by the federal company.
The lower forest authority approved the closure this Friday.
The announcement by the city of Frankfurt will follow immediately.
The entry ban applies the day after.
The police will use special forces, called height intervention teams, to clear the area.
These are officers specially trained for such operations in climbing techniques.
"The safety of the people in the forest is our top priority," says a police spokesman.
If the evacuation takes longer, you have to accept that.