Hundreds of young people, many hooded and dressed in black, clashed with police and looted stores in central Barcelona on Saturday evening, in scenes local media linked to similar unrest that has recently swept France, Belgium and Italy.
According to the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, the gathering began as a loosely organised protest against “the system,” called on social media without approval from city authorities. Some businesses appeared to anticipate trouble, closing early and locking their doors — in some cases trapping customers inside.
Rioters threw rocks at bus shelters, set fire to rubbish bins, hurled fireworks and flares at police, and built makeshift barricades out of stacked city bicycles.
One participant told La Vanguardia: “We’re not protesting about anything, there’s nothing left to protest about.” Another was heard shouting, “Let’s all go to Foot Locker!” — a call to loot the American sneaker chain. The store had already closed, and the attempted break-in reportedly failed.
La Vanguardia reporter Toni Ayala described the crowd as a mix of languages and backgrounds.
“It was all very cinematic. Some spoke Arabic; others, French; others, Spanish; others, Catalan… were like a small Tower of Babel of young people eager for fun, for something new, for something tempting, for something different that would take them out of their monotony.”
Ayala added: “From inside, you could see the flames of the bonfires. The fire of a strange revolution that basically sought to get free sneakers.”
Catalonia’s regional president, Salvador Illa, condemned the violence. “[This] has no place” in Barcelona, he said, adding that there “is no cause” that justifies such actions. “Whoever protests exercises a right. Whoever assaults or destroys violates it. And that deserves unequivocal condemnation. We will ensure that whoever does it pays for it,” Illa said.
Catalan police confirmed arrests were made but had not released a total number of detainees at the time of reporting.
The disturbances in Barcelona followed a weekend of nationwide protests in France that led to more than 1,000 arrests, part of a wider pattern of youth unrest that has also surfaced in Brussels and Milan in recent weeks.
