After 50,000 people took part in the road and railway blockades that took days for police to clear, Germany is still reeling (click here for a full report). The protesters want an end to nuclear power plants, which are already past their expiration dates, and have been trying to stop nuclear material coming into Germany from France. Although the shipment finally made its way to its destination last week, protests have not died down. 100,000 people marched in the cities of Stuttgart, Dortmund, Nuremberg and Erfurt days ago to protest the government. Major German newspaper, Spiegel, has declared that German Chancellor Angela Merckel has “re-ignited a culture war” much like the culture of resistance that caught fire in the ’80s. The implications are clear: this mass movement wants popular control not only over the economy, but over the protection of environmental resources as well.
