Vandalism and Looted Shops in Barcelona on the Eve of El Clásico

Hundreds of youths took to the streets of Barcelona on Saturday, vandalising public infrastructure, wrecking bicycles and motorbikes, and looting local businesses. A total of 14 shops were targeted during the rampage.

The chaos unfolded on the eve of El Clásico, with Barcelona set to host Real Madrid at the Camp Nou on Sunday at 22:00 CET.

Spanish daily newspaper El País provided an in-depth breakdown of the disorder in the city:

"The Catalan police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, alongside Barcelona's Municipal Police, deployed over 220 officers to contain the unrest. Law enforcement intervened repeatedly to disperse masked rioters.

Around 100 people have been detained so far, roughly 25% of whom are minors. Numerous shops and restaurants were forced to close early to avoid damage and looting around Plaça de Catalunya, La Rambla, Avinguda Portal de l'Àngel, and the surrounding streets. The youths had gathered in the city centre following calls on social media, with no prior notice given to local authorities for an official protest.

The city council implemented extensive security cordons around Plaça de Catalunya and nearby streets, extending through the area between Plaça d'Urquinaona and Plaça de la Universitat.

President of the Government of Catalonia Salvador Illa strongly condemned the violence.

"Violence has no place in Catalonia. Never. Protesting is a democratic right. Assaults, intimidation, and destruction are not," he stated.

Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni met with Catalan Interior Minister Núria Parlon on Saturday evening and adopted an uncompromising stance.

"We will not let these events go unpunished. There will be consequences both for the adults involved and for those legally responsible for minors. We will not allow our city to be ravaged," the mayor said during a press conference at 23:20.

Both Collboni and Parlon did not rule out further arrests and additional property damage. They expressed regret that the unrest was organised without any clear purpose. The mayor firmly rejected any links between the rioting and the ongoing affordable housing encampment at Plaça de Catalunya.

According to Collboni, the rioters were not fighting for any cause or rights.

"This was purely senseless violence and vandalism," Collboni concluded.

For her part, Parlon did not dismiss the possibility that the events in Barcelona may have been inspired by recent riots in Paris.

Barcelona turns into a scene of street clashes

Late into the night, the Catalan government and city council believed the intensity of the unrest was beginning to subside. However, central Barcelona still resembled a war zone, with thick smoke hanging over the streets from numerous deliberately lit fires.

According to Parlon, 33 separate fires were recorded across the city.

Around midnight, a police helicopter continued to circle over Barcelona as riot squad sirens echoed through the surrounding streets.

The unrest began around 18:00, when an estimated 600 youths—at the peak of the gathering—started targeting retail stores and vandalising public infrastructure.

The rioters were unaffiliated with any specific organisation and followed no predetermined route. Targeted properties included electronics stores, jewellery shops, and flower kiosks. Where entry was blocked, rioters violently hammered on metal security shutters, as seen at a shop in Plaça del Bonsuccés.

The Catalan police issued an alert warning that groups of aggressive, masked individuals were setting rubbish bins on fire, destroying public property, and throwing stones at officers.

Authorities urged the public to steer clear of the area.

Later in the evening, Núria Parlon reiterated that warning.

Police anticipated far less severe unrest

The scale and ferocity of the violence caught the Mossos d’Esquadra off guard. While intelligence had monitored the online chatter, police expected only minor incidents, rating the threat at level two on a four-tier risk scale. Most participants were young people, including many minors, who arrived in central Barcelona dressed in black with covered faces.

They had responded to social media calls that lacked any defined cause or agenda.

"These are the kinds of calls to gather that are spreading across Europe," Collboni remarked with frustration.

Small splinter groups acted with extreme aggression, using metal bars to smash bicycles parked at public bike-share stations. On Rambla de Catalunya, close to the central square, rioters built a large barricade from various materials, topping it with motorbikes and bicycles.

The barricade was subsequently set alight, requiring firefighters to intervene. Rioters also tried to chop down a tree, ransacked a flower stand, and smashed the windows of several others.

Florists along La Rambla had already been relocated temporarily due to ongoing redevelopment works. Meanwhile, the El Corte Inglés department store on Plaça de Catalunya closed its doors with shoppers still inside to protect them.

Rioters hurled rubbish containers at police cruisers patrolling the square with sirens blaring in an attempt to disperse the crowds. Groups also smashed public bus shelters, while computer shops and at least one jewellery store were looted.

Entrances to the Plaça de Catalunya metro station were also closed off.

Public transport continued running, but services bypassed the central hub without stopping.

Unrest organised across social media channels

The disorder erupted in the heart of Barcelona, which, as on any typical Saturday afternoon, was packed with people. Thousands of locals and tourists were in the streets, many carrying shopping bags or pulling suitcases. The rioters were mobilised via large social media group chats with hundreds of members. Reports suggest the aim was to emulate the unrest seen recently in France.

"I don't know why they're here. I'm just recording. I think it's for the money," said a masked teenager filming the chaos on his phone.

Late in the evening, the violence spilled over into other parts of the city centre.

Rioters looted an electronics store on Carrer de Balmes, near the intersection with Ronda de la Universitat.

Police officers eventually blocked the entrance after the shop was breached multiple times. Rioters also knocked down protective construction fencing around the ongoing roadworks along La Rambla.

Plainclothes officers from the Municipal Police arrested two youths, one of whom attempted to assault them. Operations at both the metro and Rodalies commuter train stations at Plaça de Catalunya were temporarily suspended.

Outside, groups of very young boys could be seen being held in police custody.

Housing activists distance themselves from the violence

The rioting erupted right next to Plaça de Catalunya, where a tent encampment has been protesting the housing crisis for three weeks. A group of aggressive youths attempted to breach the camp, but organizers and peaceful activists blocked them from entering.

"We don't want something we've been building peacefully for weeks to be turned into a violent protest," explained Chiara Monroy, spokesperson for the encampment.

According to clarified figures released by Núria Parlon, the incidents started around 18:00, involving roughly 600 youths at the peak of the disorder. Unaffiliated with any organisation and without an officially sanctioned demonstration, they vandalised public property and targeted businesses, leaving 14 shops damaged and looted across central Barcelona.