Cologne: This is how New Year’s Eve goes
Cologne –
From the police point of view, New Year’s Eve continues to be calm and peaceful. A spokesman announced at 11.30 p.m. that there were no notable missions recently. Overall, there is little activity in the city center. Larger gatherings of people have only formed at individual hotspots, for example at the Frankenwerft at the level of the KD jetty. There are around 500 people standing and sitting on the meadow, around 200 have gathered on the station forecourt. The steps on the Rheinboulevard are filled with a few hundred people. The bars and restaurants in the Zülpcher district are also well attended.
The police reported on the rings and the Zülpicher Straße of a “zero position”, also an extremely low number of operations. In large parts of the city center, in addition to the usual corona rules, there is also a ban on collecting and firecrackers.
The police are on duty with several hundred officers. North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) visited the station forecourt in the evening and thanked the forces of the police and the public order office for their service on New Year’s Eve.
The strong presence of the security forces is a sign that “the state is working,” said Reul. “There is a lot to be said for it BECOMING a quiet night,” said Reul. Many people would not even come because of the strict rules. But it is still too early to finally evaluate the night. (hol, ts)