Spanish Youths Storm Barcelona as Violent Protests Sweep Europe

Young protesters in Barcelona looted shops, set fire to rubbish bins and erected barricades in the latest outbreak of violence in Europe.

The unrest began on Saturday afternoon and led to at least 128 arrests, roughly half of them of minors, according to authorities. Fifteen police officers were reported injured during the night.

The demonstrators said they wanted to bring the French youth movement to the Spanish city, and the action was promoted on social media under the slogan “Instituts Indignats”, following French students’ use of the term “Lycées Indignés” (Dissatisfied High Schools).

Chaos has spread from Paris across Europe, with protests and strikes also taking place in Albania, Greece and Italy.

Riot police arrived in the Catalan capital in Spain on Saturday after groups of young people, many dressed in black and wearing hoods, began vandalising street furniture.

More than 30 fires were started in the streets, and at least 14 shops were looted. Footage shared on social media showed customers trapped inside a department store as the security shutters were lowered to prevent groups of suspected looters from entering.

Silvia Catà, the Catalan police chief, told Spain’s 3CatInfo outlet that the movement was “completely disorganised”; the call to rally had spread “on social media”; and that police were attempting to “study the profile” of those in custody.

Núria Parlón, the Catalan interior minister, said the unrest was “gratuitous violence and vandalism” and those responsible were not defending any legitimate cause.

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Also on Saturday, thousands gathered in Lisbon and Porto in Portugal to protest against soaring rents, the rising cost of living and a housing crisis that has hit younger generations particularly hard.

In the early hours of Sunday, police and their trained dogs attempted to remove more than 100 tents in the central Rossio Square in Lisbon.

Although each demonstration has different grievances, widespread youth participation has emerged as a common feature across Europe.