Photo: Collected
Clashes with police, vandalism and looting went on through Saturday night (24 October) in Barcelona, Spain, over a protest called by young people. The authorities arrested nearly 100 people during the unrest, roughly a quarter of them minors. At least 14 shops were also reportedly looted.
According to reports, protesters began gathering at Plaça de Catalunya in the city centre from the afternoon. The gathering had been called on social media under the slogan ‘Instituts Indignats’, modelled on a French youth movement. Some 600 people took part in the rally, according to Spanish media.
Euronews reported that tension spread around 6pm when a group of young people dressed in black and wearing hoodies began smashing street furniture. When police arrived to bring the situation under control, the protesters turned on them, throwing stones and heavy objects. Barricades were set up in various places and litter bins were set on fire, and the windows of several shops were smashed.
La Vanguardia reported that at least 14 shops were looted during the clashes. Many motorcycles, bicycles and bus stops were also vandalised. As the violence intensified, many traders in the city were forced to close their shops immediately. The Guàrdia Urbana restricted access to Plaça de Catalunya for security reasons.
Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni strongly condemned the violence. He announced that legal action would be taken to ensure proper justice, and that the parents of minors involved in the incident would also be brought to book.
Salvador Illa, president of the government of Catalonia, the autonomous region in north-eastern Spain, said everyone has the democratic right to protest, but violence can have no legitimacy.
Catalan interior minister Núria Parlon described the incident as gratuitous vandalism. The administration, however, said the violence had no connection with the main housing rights movement that has been going on at Plaça de Catalunya for several weeks.
Source: Euronews
Background
This is not the first violence on Barcelona’s streets this month. According to a Euronews report of 6 October, a large march demanding housing rights was held on 5 October at the call of the tenants’ union Sindicat de Llogateres, which eventually descended into clashes; 13 people were arrested and 30 members of the Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, were slightly injured.
According to the city police, the Guàrdia Urbana, around 20,000 people took part in that march, though the organisers put the figure at 120,000, Euronews reported.
Sources
Background sources: Euronews, 6 October 2026
