The Mossos d'Esquadra estimate that around 500 people participated in the incidents of the general strike on 11N in Barcelona. There were 52 arrests and 36 agents injured.
The day after the disturbances of the 11N general strike, the Mossos d'Esquadra have provided figures on what occurred on the Passeig de Gràcia. Of the 55,000 people who marched in the demonstration, the Catalan police estimate that around 500 participated in the incidents, attacking agents and businesses or assisting those who did.
The Minister of Interior, Núria Parlon, and the chief commissioner of the Mossos, Sílvia Catà, have detailed the balance. They speak of 52 arrests, 36 agents injured, and around ten establishments vandalised. Among them, the Apple and H&M stores on the Passeig de Gràcia were hit with Molotov cocktails.
According to Parlon, the perpetrators were "criminals" and some of their behaviours were described as "sinister". The Mossos maintain that the group acted in an organised manner, with prepared materials and the aim of generating fear and chaos in the city centre.
"Criminals" and "sinister"
One of the tensest moments occurred on the Gran Via, when a group of hooded individuals recognised several plainclothes agents and assaulted them. The BRIMO had to intervene to extract them from the situation. Later, in the final stretch of the Passeig de Gràcia, riot police were met with stones, incendiary devices, and fireworks thrown directly at them.
The Catalan police are particularly concerned about the use of fireworks. According to the Mossos, this method of attacking public order units has spread across Europe. Therefore, they have instructed their agents that, during identifications and searches, they should notify the TEDAX if they find manipulated pyrotechnic materials. They have also intervened with two minors and detected devices known as MacGyver, which explode like firecrackers.
The Mossos remind that these methods were already seen in the 15 October strike last year, called in support of Palestine. Of the 36 injured, who are agents from the BRIMO and the regional operational resources areas (ARRO), seven remain off work, according to Catà.
Reports from the General Information Commissioner indicated these businesses as targets for the violent individuals, with a risk rating of 4 out of 4. Nevertheless, the assailants had time to break windows and enter several stores before the BRIMO vans arrived at Plaça de Catalunya. By then, the damage had been ongoing for about twenty minutes.
Parlon and Catà defend that the operation was effective, as it focused on protecting the individuals still in the area. The investigation remains open and the Mossos anticipate further arrests in the coming hours or days.
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