Street Battle in Central Barcelona Following Housing Protest

A group of activists confronted the Mossos with thrown construction materials, burning containers and breaking shop windows between Passeig de Gràcia and Plaça Catalunya. The police charged and made arrests.

The protest against the housing crisis in Barcelona ended on Monday with a street battle in the city centre. After the demonstration was dissolved, a group of activists faced off against the Mossos d'Esquadra, who responded with charges and foam shots to disperse those present.

The disturbances were concentrated between Passeig de Gràcia and Plaça Catalunya. There, containers were burned, stones were thrown at shop windows, and construction materials and blunt objects were used to attack the police line. Several officers were affected and some police vans were damaged, according to the Mossos.

The first violent incident was detected around 21:30 on Casp street, where the first containers caught fire and a parked vehicle was affected. Shortly after, a group of hooded individuals attempted to break through the police cordon, and the officers used their shields selectively at the height of Passeig de Gràcia with Diputació.

With the demonstration already called off, around 22:00, rockets and bottles were thrown at the police. The Mossos made several arrests, although the number has not been specified.

“The officers used their shields selectively to contain the hooded individuals,” according to sources from the Mossos d'Esquadra.

One of the tensest points was the area of Canaletes, where participants seized construction materials from La Rambla to throw at the officers. On at least two occasions, the Mossos withdrew to try to encircle the group in Plaça Catalunya, which was taken advantage of to erect barricades with burning containers and accumulate more objects.

Finally, the officers pushed the activists towards the centre of the square, where a housing protest camp has been maintained since last week. For a time, police vans surrounded the hundreds of people concentrated at all access points, although later they abandoned several spots and only a few officers remained.

By around 00:45, the situation had calmed significantly, and some activists had left the area. The police presence continued in the area in case new disturbances occurred.