Last Generation climate activists set up street blockades at key locations in several German cities on Friday to protest for more action from leaders on climate policy.
In cities such as Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden and Braunschweig, protesters glued themselves to roads.
Some were wearing masks depicting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Transport Minister Volker Wissing and Economy Minister Robert Habeck and held up banners reading "We are breaking the law."
The group explained that the protest was drawing attention to the government's "breaking of the climate protection law."
This refers to Germany's Climate Action Law, which sets a legally binding target of achieving climate neutrality by 2045 and reducing carbon emissions.
Across Germany, at least 36 sit-in protests were planned in 26 cities, according to Last Generation.
"The federal government is breaking the law and leading our society into collapse," said the group's spokeswoman, Carla Rochel. "It is our democratic duty to peacefully resist this."
The protests come only a day after Last Generation activists caused major disruption at Hamburg and Dusseldorf airports after breaking in through a fence and gluing themselves onto the tarmac.
The actions shut down air traffic for several hours on the first day of summer holidays in Hamburg and caused severe delays in Dusseldorf. This led politicians, such as Habeck and Wissing, to call for stricter security measures at airports and harsher consequences for the activists.
On Friday, traffic in Berlin was massively blocked at several central points, like at the Victory Column, the central station and parliament building.
Activists blocked key roads leading to the Brandenburg Gate, resulting in cars driving over pavement to avoid the blockades, a dpa reporter observed.
Traffic resumed at the Victory Column a little over an hour later.
In Dresden, six activists blocked the road leading to the city centre according to police.
In Braunschweig, activists blocked a street in the city centre during rush hour. A spokeswoman for Stephan Weil, the premier of the state of Lower Saxony, criticized the actions, saying that turning large sections of society against you does not help their climate cause.
There were several injuries from the protests. A motorist was injured in a traffic jam as a result of a blockade on a Nuremberg highway. According to police, the 31-year-old driver saw a truck's trailer too late in a traffic jam, probably due to a lack of attention, and was trapped with his vehicle under the trailer. The police could not initially give any information on the severity of the injuries.
An 18-year-old activist is said to have been slightly injured during a road blockade in the western city of Bottrop. According to her own statements, she suffered the injury when a woman pulled her off the street by her hair, a police spokeswoman said.
A video circulated on Twitter showed such a scene. Police say charges are pending against an unknown person for assault in connection with the activist's injury.
Broadly, Last Generation advocates for a Citizens' Assembly which develops measures to phase out the use of fossil fuels in Germany by 2030. Its immediate demands are simly a speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour on German motorways and a permanent €9 ($10.10) ticket for buses and trains.
Some of their more provocative protests such as abseiling from motorway bridges and throwing food at a Claude Monet painting have sparked debate in recent months. Many leading politicians, including Scholz, have slammed their actions.
