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Barcelona arrests 100 after looting and fires at youth protest
Youth protests against the system in central Barcelona turned into riots as masked individuals looted shops and started more than 30 fires. Police arrested around 100 people, roughly a quarter of them minors.
Police arrested around 100 people in the Spanish city of Barcelona on Saturday evening after youth protests organized by groups online under the slogan "Against the System" turned into looting, vandalism and fires around Plaça de Catalunya in the heart of the city.
Catalonia's interior minister said protesters started more than 30 fires and that 14 shops were vandalized or looted. Reuters reported that roughly a quarter of those arrested were minors.
Call inspired by France
The call for the protest was launched under the name "Angry Schools" (Instituts Indignats), inspired by a movement of secondary school students in France. The protest was held without notifying the authorities over rising housing costs and deteriorating living conditions.
Masked young people dressed in black built a barricade of garbage containers and motorcycles at the intersection of Bergara Street and Plaça de Catalunya and set it on fire. They also smashed the glass at bus shelters and threw stones at police officers.
The groups then moved to nearby shopping streets including La Rambla, Portal de l'Àngel and Ronda de la Universitat.
Shops looted
Video footage shows masked young people breaking into an electronics store and taking goods as customers and employees flee.
Many shops closed early, and Catalan media reported that the El Corte Inglés store in Plaça de Catalunya closed its doors while customers were still inside.
A jewelry store was also looted, and a livestream from the scene documented the incident.
Later footage showed shattered storefronts, overturned and burned motorcycles, and firefighters extinguishing fires in the streets.
Police intervention
Catalonia's Mossos d'Esquadra and Barcelona's local police deployed more than 10 units. Riot police dispersed crowds, closed the streets between Universitat and Urquinaona squares, and restricted access to the central metro station.
One video shows the arrest of a participant in the looting after he attempted to steal a passerby's phone.
Protesters also attacked bicycles belonging to the city's bike rental service.
Illa: Protest is a democratic right
Catalan President Salvador Illa condemned the violence and thanked the police, saying: "Protest is a democratic right, but assault, intimidation and causing damage are not."
Activists who have been camping in Plaça de Catalunya for weeks to demand the right to housing said they had no connection to the violence. France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal have recently seen similar youth protests over the rising cost of living and the housing crisis.
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