We live in a global world and what many feared has happened: the riots caused by anti-system in France and Italy, supported by student protests, have caused a contagion effect and have already reached Spain, specifically Barcelona, where this Saturday scenes of destruction and looting were experienced around Plaza de Catalunya.
Under the motto "Instituts Indignats", a translation of the "Lyceés Indignés" movement that is behind the student mobilizations of recent weeks in France, a rally brought together several dozen young people in the center of Barcelona.
Very soon scenes of street violence and material damage to street furniture began to occur, forcing riot police to deploy and intervene to stop the incidents. The Urban Police and Mossos were forced to cut off access to the square, while the violent people threw parked motorcycles to the ground, set fire to bins and containers and, like what happened in Paris, broke shop windows in the area and looted some stores. Others, like Zara or El Corte Inglés, closed their doors early or were able to protect their windows.
The protesters went so far as to set up a barricade with small containers, trash cans and motorcycles at the confluence of Bergara Street with Plaza Catalunya and began to set it on fire. They also broke the windows of bus shelters.
The Mossos ended up clearing the concentrations of violent people before 10:00 p.m., and made a hundred arrests throughout the night, of which a quarter corresponded to minors, according to data from the Generalitat. The balance of looted businesses amounts to 14.
France: new demonstration, less violence
After the intense violence of the protests in France last weekend, this Saturday the streets of the main French cities have once again been filled with protesters (between 400,000 and 800,000, depending on the source), but this time with lower intensity riots, due in part to the powerful police deployment ordered by the French Government after the scenes seven days ago, which went around the world.
Between 100,000 and 250,000 people have demonstrated in Paris alone, and most of the participants were high school and university students wearing yellow vests, as well as union members. Furthermore, the protests have been diverted away from the center of the capital, although there have again been riots and clashes between protesters and police after the demonstrations ended, with almost a thousand people arrested throughout the country, according to the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Núñez.
In Paris, the Prefecture has confirmed 65 arrests and 40 detentions, including those of 60 minors. Núñez explained that "a large part of the arrests are related to controls and the discovery of material intended to be used as a weapon."
Tension in protests in Italy
Italy, another of the countries where serious unrest has occurred in recent days, has again been the scene of protests this Saturday in cities such as Rome, Milan, Turin, Naples, Bari and Palermo.
In Turin, protesters have repeatedly tried to break the police cordon, while in Rome, there have been moments of tension in the Colosseum area.
More than 200 people have been identified in the capital alone and 63 people have been arrested and taken to the police station for possession of material that complied with police operational instructions.
Albania: new protest against the Government
Last weekend there were also protests in Albania, a country in which students and opposition parties demonstrate against the government, mainly demanding improvements in the education system.
