Hooded Rioters Batter Shop Front Near Barcelona’s Boqueria Market

Groups of hooded young people tried to smash their way into a shop on La Rambla near the Boqueria market in Barcelona on Saturday night, October 24, as a youth protest spiralled into rioting across the city centre.

X user Marc filmed dozens of figures dressed in black crowding around the store’s metal grille and striking at it, as others ran along the pedestrianised street past toppled barriers and concrete blocks. A single trainer lay abandoned on the pavement.

The unrest began at around 7 p.m. after a gathering at Plaça de Catalunya, called on social media under the slogan “Instituts Indignats” in an echo of the student protests in France. Hooded groups burned rubbish containers, threw stones and bottles at police and looted shops including jewellers and electronics stores. Police said at least 100 people were arrested, 27 of them minors.

Catalonia’s regional president Salvador Illa condemned the violence. “Violence has no place in Catalonia. Never. Protesting is a democratic right. Attacking, intimidating and causing damage is not,” they said.