Protests in Barcelona escalate into violent clashes: More than 120 detained

Chaos in central Barcelona began around 6:00 p.m. local time on Saturday around Plaça de Catalunya. Groups of young people dressed in black and wearing hoods began destroying street furniture.

The demonstration later escalated into violent clashes with police.

Protesters erected barricades, set garbage bins on fire, smashed shop windows, and threw stones at officers. Law enforcement officers used special equipment to disperse the crowd.

According to the authorities, a quarter of the 128 people detained were minors.

Fifteen police officers were injured during the overnight unrest, and around 14 shops were looted.

Amid the violence, businesses closed en masse, access to Plaça de Catalunya was restricted, and metro train services were temporarily suspended.

Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni strongly condemned the incidents and promised to bring those responsible to justice. He also warned that the parents of underage offenders could face consequences.

President of the Government of Catalonia Salvador Illa backed the police response, stressing that protesting is a democratic right, but violence cannot be justified.

The region’s Interior Minister, Núria Parlon, described the situation as baseless vandalism.

The authorities stressed separately that the riots were not connected to the peaceful housing rights camp that has been operating in Plaça de Catalunya for a long time.

A wave of large-scale social protests swept across Europe on October 24.

In particular, thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid to defend Spain’s public pension system.

This year’s march drew twice as many participants as the previous one, amid active discussion of the issue during the election campaign.

Large-scale demonstrations against the rising cost of living also continued in France that day, with police detaining more than 130 people.