Looting and fires in central Barcelona following youth protest

A gathering called via social media in Plaça de Catalunya ended with looting, fires, and clashes with the Mossos d'Esquadra. There are over a hundred arrests, a quarter of whom are minors.

The incidents began in the afternoon in Plaça de Catalunya, where dozens of young people had gathered under the slogan “Instituts Indignats”, a name linked to the French movement “Lycées Indignés”. Most were dressed in black and some had their faces covered.

According to the Barcelona Urban Guard, access to the square was closed from Plaça Urquinaona to Universitat. Isolated groups that dispersed into nearby streets broke shop windows, attempted to enter businesses, and threw stones and objects at the officers.

The damage affects 14 shops in the city centre, according to Interior Minister Núria Parlon, who attributed the disturbances to “unorganised” groups that, in her opinion, did not defend “any rights.” Additionally, they set fire to containers, bins, and terrace awnings, and erected barricades with public elements.

Several local businesses lowered their shutters as a precaution. Among them is El Corte Inglés, just a few metres from the campsite advocating for housing rights that has been set up in the square for weeks. The Mossos d'Esquadra urged the public to avoid the area.

“Violence has no place in Catalonia,” stated the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, in a message on X.

Illa strongly condemned the incidents and expressed his support for the Mossos. In the same message, he defended that protest is a democratic right, but that aggression, intimidation, and damage are not.

Authorities have made several arrests, with over a hundred according to the report, a quarter of whom are minors. There is still no official count of injuries.

The call is part of youth mobilisations that have spread in recent weeks across Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Serbia, and Albania. The demands of Lycées Indignés in France focus on the lack of teachers, the deterioration of schools, and university access conditions. For readers in Barcelona, the city centre and Plaça de Catalunya will remain with restricted access while cleaning and damage assessment tasks are completed.