Barcelona riots leave 128 arrested and 15 police officers injured
Spanish police arrested 128 people, including 72 minors, after a youth-led protest in Barcelona descended into violence on Saturday, 24 October, leaving 15 officers injured and dozens of businesses damaged.
According to the latest figures released by Catalonia’s Mossos d’Esquadra police force on Sunday, four officers sustained serious injuries, while 23 shops were vandalised and firefighters responded to 33 fires across the city centre.
🇪🇸 Spain’s far-right activists took to the streets today amid mass looting and riots that spread to their cities https://t.co/4U3Ykafdd6
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 24, 2026
Hundreds of young people gathered in Plaça de Catalunya following calls circulated on TikTok under the name Institut Indignats, inspired by the French student protest movement Lycéens Indignés.
Many participants wore black clothing and covered their faces. Groups smashed shop windows, looted businesses and set rubbish bins alight, while others erected barricades and threw objects at police.
Protesters in Barcelona, Spain looted shops and set fire to street furniture around the city’s central Plaza de Catalunya in an anti-establishment rally on Saturday. Europe is facing a wave of public anger, with demonstrators protesting over housing and living costs across the continent, including in France, Albania, Belgium and Italy.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 25, 2026
Some shoppers became trapped inside stores after security shutters were lowered to prevent looting. Police deployed more than 220 officers as businesses and restaurants closed and access to nearby public transport was restricted.
More than half of those arrested were minors
Police said 72 of the 128 people detained were under 18, representing 56% of all arrests. The detainees included 122 males and six females.
Officers also recorded 63 administrative reports involving the seizure of knives, pepper sprays, masks, fireworks and stones.
Street protests in Barcelona, Spain over housing crisis, youth disillusionment, anti-establishment. Similarities with France, particularly the use of social media to mobilise young people, the rhetoric and incidents of looting and arson. https://t.co/SvLei5gkwb
— Smita Prakash (@smitaprakash) October 25, 2026
Mossos police chief Silvia Catà described the participants as largely unorganised groups who had gathered without a specific political demand. She said many appeared to have been influenced by recent unrest in France.
Catà said police were preparing to refer the detainees either to the courts or to juvenile prosecutors, depending on their ages.
Barcelona clashes follow weeks of housing protests in Spain
The violence came after weeks of demonstrations across Spain over housing costs, evictions and access to affordable accommodation.
On 3 October, tens of thousands of people marched in more than 50 Spanish cities after parliament rejected emergency measures intended to strengthen tenant protections.
🚨 Aldarulls al centre de Barcelona en el marc d’una protesta convocada per suposats estudiants a través de les xarxes socials 🚔 Els Mossos han efectuat càrregues per dispersar els concentrats i alguns esvalotadors han fet destrosses a vehicles, comerços i mobiliari urbà https://t.co/W3jLbZRjoi
— RTVE Notícies (@rtvenoticies) October 24, 2026
An estimated 70,000 demonstrators gathered in Madrid, while police used tear gas and rubber bullets during clashes in Valencia. Two days later, another housing demonstration in Barcelona ended with 13 arrests and injuries to 30 police officers.
However, Catalan authorities have distinguished Saturday’s violence from the organised housing movement, saying the latest gathering had no clear demands and was promoted primarily through social media.
Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni condemned the destruction and warned that those responsible would face legal consequences. He also said parents and guardians of minors involved in the violence could face legal repercussions.
🚨🔥WTF is happening in #Barcelona right now: A random TikTok call pulled a bunch of hooded kids to Plaça Catalunya. It turned into full riots — stones at police, containers and bikes on fire, shops getting looted. 100+ arrested (a bunch of them minors). City center locked down. Inspired by the French protests. Absolute chaos. #Barcelona #Spain #Europe
— NSW OSINT (@NSWOSINT) October 24, 2026
Catalonia’s regional president, Salvador Illa, also condemned the unrest while defending the right to peaceful protest.
The clashes coincided with further demonstrations elsewhere in Spain. In Madrid, thousands marched on Saturday to defend the public pension system, while a smaller gathering inspired by the youth protests ended with comparatively minor incidents.
Police investigations into the Barcelona violence continued on Sunday, with authorities working to establish the identities of those detained and determine their alleged involvement in the attacks
