Protestsupdated 1h ago2 min read
MapBarcelona Youth Protest Turns To Looting, Fires, And Clashes With Mossos d’Esquadra; 100 Arrests
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This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Around 600 youths gathered in Barcelona, looting 14 shops and clashing with Mossos; ~100 arrests. About a quarter of those arrested were minors.
Barcelona youth unrest
Around 6:00 p.m. in Barcelona, about 600 youths gathered at Plaça de Catalunya for an unsanctioned demonstration organized through social media, and the rally ended with looting at 14 shops, barricades, fires, and clashes with the Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra. Catalan authorities said the protest had no identifiable organization and ended up leading to episodes of violence and vandalism, with demonstrators damaging street furniture and clashing with police. The Mossos deployed a riot police operation and began dispersing the crowd as groups moved through streets near Plaça de Catalunya, where new scuffles and clashes with officers continued.
“We will not allow what happened to go unpunished.”
Barcelona’s mayor Jaume Collboni said at a late-evening press conference, "We will not allow what happened to go unpunished." Catalonia’s Interior Minister Núria Parlon emphasized that the disturbances were not related to the housing encampment in Plaça de Catalunya and said the youths came to damage and loot 14 establishments in the city center.
Arrests, minors, and police
Catalan police and municipal police in Barcelona arrested around 100 protesters, and about a quarter of those arrested were minors. The Times of India said authorities in Barcelona arrested 100 people after hooded demonstrators vandalised stores, while Catalonia’s interior minister Núria Parlon said around a quarter of those arrested were minors. The El Cronista account said the incidents began around 6 p.m. and that the demonstrators, many dressed in black and some with their faces covered, began to damage urban furniture and clash with the police.
The Mossos asked via social media that citizens avoid approaching the area due to the presence of violent groups, and the Urban Guard closed access to Plaça de Catalunya from Plaça Urquinaona to Universitat. The Times of India reported that videos shared online showed people trapped inside shops, including the department store El Corte Ingles, after shutters were lowered to prevent looting.
Political condemnation and consequences
Salvador Illa, the President of the Government of Catalonia, condemned the damage and stated that "violence has no place in Catalonia." Jaume Collboni warned that the City Hall would appear in the judicial processes that may be opened and assured that the acts would have legal consequences for both adults and the parents of the minors involved. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the People’s Party, argued that the disturbances show the need for a "change" in Spain and called for responsibility to preserve coexistence.
“We will not allow the city to be devastated.”
DIE WELT reported that Collboni said there will be consequences for adult participants in the acts of violence and for those responsible for the minors, adding, "We will not allow the city to be devastated." El Cronista said the Catalan Government’s Minister of the Interior Núria Parlon and Barcelona’s mayor Jaume Collboni emphasized that the disturbances were not related to the encampment demanding housing access set up for weeks in the square.