Anti-establishment demonstrations turned violent in France and Spain on Saturday, with protesters clashing with police, shops being looted and public property damaged.Authorities in Barcelona arrested 100 people after hooded demonstrators vandalised stores, while French police made nearly 1,000 arrests during protests over the cost of living and school funding.In Barcelona, demonstrators taking part in a rally against the establishment set fire to street furniture and looted shops around the central Plaza de Catalunya, an area popular with tourists and weekend shoppers.Catalonia’s interior minister, Núria Parlon, said around a quarter of those arrested in Barcelona were minors. More than 30 fires were set and 14 shops were vandalised or looted, she added.
French riot police apprehend a protester amid clashes during demonstration organised by labour unions in Paris as part of nationwide protests called by the “Yellow Vests” movement.
The demonstrations were promoted on social media as a movement “against the system”. Posts also used the slogan “Institut Indignats”, a translation of “Lyceés Indignés”, the name used by students who have protested in France in recent weeks. Both phrases refer to indignant or dissatisfied high school students.Videos shared online showed people trapped inside shops, including the department store El Corte Ingles, after shutters were lowered to prevent looting. Other footage showed hooded demonstrators dressed in black smashing shop windows and taking goods, sometimes encouraged by people watching online.Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni warned that acts of vandalism “will not go unpunished”. He also said the guardians of minors involved could face legal consequences.
A protester, wearing a gas mask and protective eyewear, drags a chair amidst tear gas, during a demonstration banned by local authorities and called by the “Yellow Vests” movement.
Tear gas and clashes in French cities
In France, clashes broke out in Paris and several other cities as demonstrations against rising living costs and school funding drew hundreds of thousands of people. The protests, described by organisers as an “Acte II”, or second round, came a week after unrest involving widespread looting and damage to public buildings.The interior ministry estimated that 410,000 people took part nationwide, including 110,000 in Paris. The CGT union, which helped organise the demonstrations, put the national turnout at nearly 800,000 and the Paris crowd at 250,000. The ministry said turnout was lower than the 550,000 people it estimated had protested the previous weekend.
A protesters walks holding an umbrella next to a fire during an authorised demonstration organised by a labour union in Marseille.
The main Paris march began peacefully but descended into clashes near its endpoint in the east of the city. Masked protesters threw objects and fireworks at police, who responded with tear gas, sound grenades and water cannon. Officers used batons and charged at groups of demonstrators as the crowd dispersed.Police also used tear gas against protesters in Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez had warned earlier in the day, “We will not tolerate any violence or any disturbance of public order.”Authorities deployed 70,000 security personnel across France to manage the demonstrations. The previous weekend’s unrest had resulted in hundreds of shops being looted and 2,700 arrests.
Security tightened as unrest spreads
The unrest in France appeared less violent as night fell, but clashes continued in several places. The demonstrations came six months before elections to choose a successor to President Emmanuel Macron, who is serving the final months of his term.Authorities restricted the main Paris march to the city’s southeastern edge, away from the centre. Shops, including luxury boutiques, boarded up their windows and brought in extra security. The Louvre, Musée d’Orsay and Picasso Museum closed, while a scheduled football match between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais was postponed.
A vandalised store during a student’s protest in Spain’s Barcelona.
In Barcelona, the scale of looting and damage prompted warnings from local authorities as footage of the unrest spread online. The protests in both countries reflected anger over different issues, with French demonstrators focusing on living costs and school funding, while the Barcelona rally was framed as a broader challenge to the establishment.
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