Chaos on the Streets of Hamburg

"There will be people on Sunday who are amazed that the summit is already over". Famous last words from the mayor of Hamburg, Olaf Scholz. Such was the confidence that the G20 would go off without a hitch, Scholz and his government had heralded a "festival of democracy". Unfortunately, left wing extremists had different plans.

From start to finish, parts of Hamburg were plagued by violence, resulting in injuries to 476 police officers and over 400 people being taken into custody or arrested. Entire streets were engulfed in flames, shops looted and cars set on fire. In the aftermath, the apparent naivety of Scholz is being put under the spotlight, with questions being raised as to why such an event was staged in the middle of a large city that an engaged, and in some cases extremist, left wing scene calls home.