100 arrested as anti-system rioters loot shops and set fires around Barcelona's Plaza de Catalunya

A total of 100 people were arrested in Barcelona on Saturday evening after hooded demonstrators who took part in an anti-establishment rally looted shops and set fire to street furniture around the city’s central Plaza de Catalunya, Reuters reported (Reuters).

Núria Parlon, the interior minister for the Spanish region of Catalonia, said around 25% of those arrested were minors. More than 30 fires were set and 14 stores were vandalised or looted in a part of town popular with tourists and weekend shoppers, she added.

Demonstrators were called in social media posts to a movement “against the system”. The posts also used the slogan “Institut Indignats”, a translation of the movement “Lycées Indignés” which was used to rally students who have protested in France in recent weeks.

Social media videos showed people trapped inside shops, including department store El Corte Inglés, after shutters were lowered to prevent looting. Other posts showed hooded demonstrators dressed in black kicking in shop windows and making off with goods, in some cases encouraged by online viewers.

Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni said acts of vandalism in the city “will not go unpunished”, including legal consequences for the guardians of any minors involved. Catalan President Salvador Illa condemned the violence and thanked the Mossos d’Esquadra for protecting citizens and businesses, saying protesting is a democratic right but attacking, intimidating or causing damage is not (Demócrata).