It wasn’t just the rain that dampened spirits at the opening of Cologne’s annual carnival with nearly 200 arrests and incidents of sexual assault They came dressed defiantly in mini-skirts and micro-shorts despite the rain and freezing winds, but for thousands of young women taking to the streets of Cologne for the city’s annual carnival season there was no escaping a new sense of trepidation.
Antoine Even, a 20-year-old business student, joined the bedraggled
legions of dogs and Darth Vaders, crocodiles and cowboys, bumble-bees
and bunny rabbits, but just a month after the Cologne sex attacks, she could not completely forget her concerns.
"We decided that we’re not going to be afraid, we’re going to party - otherwise they just win"
Antoine Even, student
“We have our pepper
sprays,” said Ms Even, patting the bum-bag around her waist. “Our
parents didn’t really want us to come and they warned us to be very
careful, but we decided that we’re not going to be afraid, we’re going
to party - otherwise they just win.”
Aided by copious quantities of beer and bratwurst, it would be wrong to
say that the carnival spirit had died this year in one of Germany’s
most progressive cities, but equally it was true that for many people,
despite all the gaiety, something felt different.
Perhaps it was the overwhelming police presence watching over the
revellers as they went slip-sliding, arm-in-arm along the cobbled
streets around Cologne’s famous cathedral, the most visible reminder of
the assaults and robberies against scores of women at the New Year’s Eve celebration.
“A lot of people are afraid, but we are doing everything we can to make them feel safe and confident in the security,” said Wolfgang Baldes, senior spokesman for the Cologne police, confirming that police numbers had doubled from last year to 2,000 officers, many in riot gear.
“Cologne is an open-minded city,” he added, “and we are also trying to protect that - we need to make people feel safe again.”
Before the event, police distributed flyers on social etiquette at the carnival, explaining the innocent practice of “Butzen” where carnival-goers plant kisses on fellow-revellers cheeks, and explaining "women and men must always consent to the 'butzen'. No means no!"
After the opening night police reported 190 arrests, including 22 sexual assaults in a crowd that was overwhelmingly white – there were no reports of gangs operating, although a Belgian TV reporter said she was groped on-air by a man of European appearance who grabbed her breast.
But after a grim year both for Europe and Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, there was inevitably talk of politics at the beer-stalls in a week when the need to deal afresh with the refugee crisis saw the German leader’s personal poll-ratings hit a five-year low.
After Mrs Merkel so publicly threw open the gates last autumn, Germany has accepted more than a million migrants – many undocumented - straining public services and leading to fierce criticism of Germany’s leader for failing to manage the flow better.
'People are scared'
That, and the threat of terrorism after the Paris attacks – deepened by the arrests of three Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) suspects on the morning of the Carnival opening, including two in a town just 50 miles from Cologne – combined to provide an unavoidably tense backdrop to this year’s event.“A lot of people are afraid, but we are doing everything we can to make them feel safe and confident in the security,” said Wolfgang Baldes, senior spokesman for the Cologne police, confirming that police numbers had doubled from last year to 2,000 officers, many in riot gear.
Before the event, police distributed flyers on social etiquette at the carnival, explaining the innocent practice of “Butzen” where carnival-goers plant kisses on fellow-revellers cheeks, and explaining "women and men must always consent to the 'butzen'. No means no!"
After the opening night police reported 190 arrests, including 22 sexual assaults in a crowd that was overwhelmingly white – there were no reports of gangs operating, although a Belgian TV reporter said she was groped on-air by a man of European appearance who grabbed her breast.
But after a grim year both for Europe and Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, there was inevitably talk of politics at the beer-stalls in a week when the need to deal afresh with the refugee crisis saw the German leader’s personal poll-ratings hit a five-year low.
After Mrs Merkel so publicly threw open the gates last autumn, Germany has accepted more than a million migrants – many undocumented - straining public services and leading to fierce criticism of Germany’s leader for failing to manage the flow better.
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