OMM Newsroom
Spanish police intervened on Saturday after a protest organized by young people in Barcelona turned violent, Anadolu Agency reported.
Hundreds of young people dressed in black gathered at Catalonia Square following a call circulated on social media under the Catalan-language hashtag “Institut Indignats”. The protest was inspired by the “Lycees Indignes” movement, which has led student protests in France in recent weeks.
Some demonstrators looted shops, set trash containers on fire and threw stones and bottles at security personnel, prompting police to intervene.
After police action, protesters dispersed in groups. Clashes between police and demonstrators were reported on side streets, with some people injured and others detained.
The incidents took place in central Barcelona, close to a protest camp with tents set up several weeks ago to demand housing rights. Large crowds of residents and tourists were in the area.
Barcelona’s municipal police, the Guardia Urbana, said several streets in the city center had been closed after the unrest. Many shops lowered their shutters to prevent potential damage.
Salvador Illa, president of the Catalan regional government, condemned the violence and vandalism.
“An attack, a threat or an act of causing damage is not a democratic right. Anyone who does this will pay the price,” Illa wrote on “X”.
He added that violence had no place in Catalonia and that there was no justification for it.
