LAGOS OCTOBER 26TH (NEWSRANGERS)-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.
Violent clashes between protesters and police continue to spread across France. Hundreds of thousands of protesters took part in marches in cities including Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Police estimated the accumulative total to be 410,000, while unions put the figure twice as high.
As night fell in Paris, violence erupted and black-clad, hooded youths pelting police with fireworks and stones were met with volleys of tear gas and water cannon jets.
Police had arrested 1,314 people in weekend protests across France, Laurent Nuñez, the interior minister, said, mostly for carrying materials intended to be used as weapons. Fifty-three officers were reported hurt in clashes.
In Nantes, demonstrators threw petrol bombs and fireworks at police officers, resulting in at least 70 arrests, while authorities prevented shops from being looted.
Despite restrictions on demonstrations in Bordeaux, protesters erected barricades, set rubbish bins alight and attempted to storm the chamber of commerce and industry building.
Albania has seen months of peaceful protests from the “Flamingo” movement, calling on Edi Rama, the prime minister now in his fourth term, to resign. They began as protests against a mega-tourism project on the Adriatic coast linked to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
However, when the student protests joined this week, violence erupted and clashes spread beyond the capital, Tirana, to include Durrës, Shkodër, Lezhë and Vlorë in the west, Gjirokastër in the south and Korçë in the east. The protesters’ anger peaked after a young man suffered a broken leg.
Molotov cocktails were thrown through the environment ministry building’s doors and a floor of the education ministry was set ablaze, as was Tirana city hall. Across Albania, 283 people have been arrested and 363 charged since this month’s protests began, officials said.
Italy has also been affected by Europe’s autumn unrest. In Rome, demonstrators broke into the Colosseum and clashes broke out near Piazza della Repubblica, where officers equipped with shields, batons and water cannons attempted to hold them back.
In Milan, northern Italy, hundreds of soldiers were deployed alongside police to prevent protesters from gathering in the city on Saturday, after violent scenes last week when some started fires and looted shops.
More than 2,500 arrests were made last week when around 550,000 people took part in demonstrations against rising fuel prices and the cost of living after weeks of student protests.
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.
The Telegraph
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