Visitors to Germany’s financial capital cannot fail to notice the tented village of the ‘Occupy Frankfurt’ movement at the European Central Bank, Europe’s longest continuous ‘indignants’ protest. Over seven months, demonstrators have braved the often glacial conditions in their 50 or so brightly coloured tents placed next to a gigantic euro symbol — the logo of the ECB, guardians of the under-fire single currency. “In Europe, we’re the only major camp in place for so long,” said Thomas, one of the representatives of the movement who, like many of their number, declined to give their full name. While major camps in London, Madrid and New York have long since been dismantled, the Frankfurt “indignants” have vowed to continue their crusade against corporate greed with a global day of protest expected on Saturday. But the camp’s days could be numbered. The city of Frankfurt has ruled that it must be cleared from May 16. This prompted another spokesman from the movement, Martin Behrsing, to compare the city authorities with Russia “where every democratic protest that is not politically suitable is suppressed.” Despite this, the protest has been violence-free for the seven months it has been in existence outside the ECB. Thomas Drillich, a computer technician on long-term medical leave, said the reason the camp had lasted so long was that “we are peaceful and we cooperate with the authorities.”
