About 100 arrested after youth gathering in central Barcelona ends in looting and fires

Police in Barcelona arrested about 100 people on Saturday 24 October after a gathering of young people in the city centre, called through social media and not notified to the authorities, turned into clashes with officers, looting of shops and street fires, officials said.

About a quarter of those arrested are minors, according to a first assessment published by Barcelona City Council. EFE reported 27 minors among them.

The gathering began at about 4pm GMT in Plaça de Catalunya. Catalonia’s interior minister, Núria Parlon, said about 600 young people took part at its peak; the city council put the number at about 500. Many were dressed in black and had their faces covered, El País and El Mundo reported.

The call, which circulated on TikTok and messaging apps, used the slogan “Institut Indignats” (“Schools in revolt”), a reference to the French “Lycées indignés” movement, according to Spanish media. One banner read “Against the system, schools in struggle”. Mayor Jaume Collboni said it “has not been an ordinary call defending a cause or a right” but part of calls “currently spreading across Europe, especially France”. Catalonia’s interior department said it saw a possible “mirror” of protests held the same day in several European cities, EFE reported.

The Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalonia’s police, and Barcelona’s city police deployed more than 220 officers. At about 6:30pm GMT the Mossos warned on social media that “violent groups of people with their faces covered” were burning bins, damaging street furniture and throwing stones at police, and asked people to avoid the area.

The city council said 14 shops were damaged or looted and firefighters dealt with about 30 fires, mostly in bins and street furniture; Parlon gave a figure of 33 fires. Incidents spread from Plaça de Catalunya to La Rambla, Portal de l’Àngel and Plaça de la Universitat, and many shops closed early. At least ten Mossos and city police officers were injured, most of them slightly, some by stones, El Mundo and El Nacional reported. No official figure for injured protesters has been published.

Calm returned to the area at about midnight local time, El Nacional reported.

Catalan president Salvador Illa condemned the violence: “Protesting is a democratic right. Attacking, intimidating and causing damage is not.” Collboni said the council would join the court cases and seek damages, and that the disturbances “will have consequences” for adults and for the parents of minors. Parlon did not rule out further arrests as the investigation continues.