The center of Barcelona has recorded this Saturday, October 24, looting, fires of urban furniture, and police charges during a youth protest called through social networks. The incidents, which began in Plaza Catalunya, have reached nearby commercial streets and have forced establishments, including El Corte Inglés, to lower their shutters. The Mossos d'Esquadra have recommended not approaching the area.
The evolution of the altercations has added looting to the initial confrontations with the police and the assault on a store on Ronda Universitat. There have also been reports of broken shop windows, overturned motorcycles, and stone throwing against the agents.
BREAKING: Significant clashes in Central Barcelona, Spain, this evening. https://t.co/FaaZaeA5ja
— World Source News (@Worldsource24) October 24, 2026
The police device and the traffic cuts have altered a Saturday afternoon with numerous neighbors and tourists in the center. The Guàrdia Urbana has restricted circulation in the surroundings of the plazas de Catalunya and Universitat while the Mossos intervened to disperse the involved groups.
Shops close in the face of looting and destruction
Commercial activity has been interrupted by the confrontations and the movement of groups through the streets near plaza Catalunya. The closing of shutters has been a protective measure against the risk of damage, although some establishments have suffered attacks on their windows.
Caos en Barcelona España https://t.co/w4FZksAWq4
— noticias virales (@noticias_biral) October 24, 2026
In addition to the documented looting in Ronda Universitat, the incidents have affected an environment that connects with the Rambla and Portal de l'Àngel. There have been preventive closures of shops and restaurants and the intervention of firefighters to extinguish the fires.
The Catalan police have warned of the presence of hooded groups that were burning containers, damaging urban furniture, and throwing stones. Their recommendation to avoid the area seeks to keep passersby away from the hotspots of violence and facilitate police intervention.
A barricade with containers and motorcycles next to Vergara street
One of the points of the first altercations has been located at the confluence of Vergara street with Catalunya square. There, participants in the disturbances have erected and set fire to a barricade made of small containers, trash cans, and motorcycles.
They have also broken the glass of two bus shelters and caused damage to a traffic light. The vans of the Mossos have patrolled the perimeter of the square while the riot police on foot intervened to disperse the hooded individuals.
A youth call inspired by the protests in France
The mobilization had spread through social networks as a protest "against the system." The slogan "Institut Indignats" refers to the French student movement that has led mobilizations in recent weeks.
Among the attendees were young people dressed in black and high school students, some underage. The call had not been communicated to the Department of Interior, according to police sources cited by elDiario.es.
The incidents have occurred just a few meters from the encampment for the right to housing set up in Catalunya square. The physical proximity does not confirm a link between both calls. El País reports that members of the camp have distanced themselves from the violent acts.
Illa: "Protesting is a democratic right"
The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, has condemned the altercations and thanked the work of the Mossos to protect citizens and commercial establishments.
La violència no té cabuda a Catalunya. Mai. Vull agrair el treball dels @mossos d'Esquadra per protegir la ciutadania i el comerç. Protestar és un dret democràtic. Agredir, intimidar o causar destrosses no ho és. No hi ha cap causa que justifiqui la violència. Qui protesta exerceix un dret. Qui agredeix o destrossa, el vulnera. I això mereix una condemna rotunda. Ens assegurarem que qui ho faci, ho pagui.
— Salvador Illa Roca (@salvadorilla) October 24, 2026
"Protesting is a democratic right. Aggressing, intimidating, or causing damage is not," he has pointed out on the social network X. His message distinguishes the exercise of the right to protest from attacks against people, businesses, and urban furniture.