Friday 13 November 2026: Climate protest march through the city centre; an LED light comes on in Leipzig; DHfK handball team in with a chance of reaching the World Cup

Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar: Zum deutschen Artikel.

“Pay your climate debt,” demanded thousands of climate activists today in more than 70 German cities. In Leipzig, over 500 people took to the streets for this Fridays for Future protest. In any case, the city’s street lighting is becoming increasingly climate-friendly. An important milestone has been reached here. And: two Leipzig handball players can harbour quiet hopes of taking part in the World Cup. The LZ summarises the key events in Leipzig and beyond on Friday, 13 November 2026.

Fridays for Future protests in more than 70 cities

Fridays for Future staged protests today in more than 70 German cities to mark the 31st UN Climate Change Conference. According to the climate movement, tens of thousands of people took part in the nationwide day of action under the slogan ‘Pay your climate debt’. The activists called on the German government to provide more funding for international climate protection and adaptation measures and to press ahead with the phase-out of fossil fuels.

As one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, Germany bears a special responsibility for complying with the Paris Climate Agreement. Furthermore, the federal government must deliver on the financial support it has already pledged to countries particularly affected by the climate crisis. The demonstrators also criticised the fact that Chancellor Friedrich Merz is not attending the UN Climate Change Conference. Following a scorching summer that claimed the lives of 16,000 people, this sends a disastrous signal to young people and the countries most severely affected, explained FFF.

In Leipzig, over 500 people took part in this FFF protest. Following an opening rally outside the Federal Constitutional Court, the demonstration marched through Leipzig city centre via Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz, Markt and Augustusplatz. The event concluded with a musical performance by the band Ufonia at Johannisplatz.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Leipzig switches to LED lighting

In Leipzig, more than half of the city’s streetlights are now fitted with energy-saving LED technology. The city council announced this today. With the conversion of the street lighting on Adolph-Menzel-Straße in Gohlis-Mitte, the 53 per cent mark has been exceeded. There, along a 320-metre stretch, ten new steel masts fitted with LED luminaires have now replaced the fault-prone lighting system dating from the 1970s. The cost of this work amounted to around 100,000 euros. The system went into operation today.

Of the total of 52,787 light points in the city, 28,242 now feature LED technology. In 14,509 of these cases, only the light source was replaced, whilst in 13,733 cases, completely new LED luminaires were installed. In 2022, this figure had stood at just 12.5 per cent. Since then, the city has invested around 2.5 million euros in the conversion.

The technical modernisation reduced the electrical connected load of the street lighting from 5.068 to 3.597 megawatts. As a result, Leipzig saves around 6,301 megawatt-hours of energy annually, amounting to approximately 1.387 million euros in electricity costs. Furthermore, with a lifespan of around 20 years, LED lights have a significantly longer service life than older sodium vapour bulbs, which need to be replaced after just five years.

The city is relying exclusively on LED technology for new installations and is gradually retrofitting existing systems. On Franz-Mehring-Straße in Gohlis, for example, 22 new steel masts fitted with LED lights are currently being installed at a cost of 220,000 euros. The lights there are due to be switched on in December.

Two DHfK handball players in contention for the World Championship

SC DHfK Leipzig is represented by two players in the extended squad of the German national handball team for the World Championship in January 2027. Franz Semper and right-winger Staffan Peter feature on the 35-strong squad list submitted by the German Handball Federation (DHB) to the International Handball Federation (IHF).

The nomination of Semper, who has made 42 international appearances to date and is a European Championship runner-up, comes as no surprise. Although he was not selected for the last two international matches, he remains in contact with national coach Alfred Gislason and aims to earn further call-ups through strong performances.

For Peter, this is his first call-up. The Leipzig right-winger has earned his place in the extended squad thanks to impressive performances and 65 goals this season, making him SC DHfK’s top scorer so far. Head coach Frank Carstens also sees the inclusion of both players as recognition of their strong training performances and their role as key players within the club.

The 35-man list serves as the basis for the final squad selection and any potential call-ups during the tournament. National coach Gislason is expected to announce his final squad on 14 December. The World Championship will take place in Germany from 13 to 31 January 2027.

What the LZ reported on today:

2027 mayoral election in Leipzig: Dirk Panter presents his ‘More than an election manifesto’

The city council met: City sells Semmelweis site to LWB to consolidate the budget

The city council met: Another small wood saved – this time on Merseburger Straße

Capa Wood (almost) saved: the Greens and Ökolöwe comment on the city’s decision

Hello Leipzig: This is how Friday 13 November 2026 kicks off the weekend

Incense cones: A truly contemplative little book about the scent of the Ore Mountains

What else was important:

Thomas Berthold, 1990 World Cup winner, is apparently planning to stand for the office of Federal President. The AfD wants to put the 62-year-old forward as a candidate.

A massive outage affecting various Microsoft services, such as Outlook and Teams, caused significant disruption to public authorities, businesses and private users worldwide. Over 70 countries and regions were reportedly affected. However, according to Microsoft, there is no evidence to suggest a cyberattack.

A package of laws passed by the Bundestag will grant German intelligence services greater powers in future. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the BND will now also be permitted to take operational action in the event of specific threats. Until now, they were mainly authorised to gather information.