protests

The demonstrations, set at 5pm, demand the immediate release of all ‘political prisoners’

Civic organizations hope Barcelona protest will rival mass September 11 national day demonstrations

As main unions in the country did not back the strike, most companies and shops opened as usual

Citizens circle the Catalan chamber amid fears that Spanish police could break in to stop the independence declaration

Demonstration motto: “Free Jordi Sánchez. Free Jordi Cuixart. In defense of rights and liberties”

Detention and charges of sedition “constitute excessive restrictions of their rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly,” says Amnesty

‘En peu de pau’ offers guidance on non-violent demonstration to consolidate the recent peaceable political action in Catalonia

Doctors, firefighters, clergy, students and professors all mobilized against recent Spanish actions

Barcelona’s Gracia neighbourhood saw violent protests this past Monday, after a demonstration against the eviction of the so-called ‘Expropriated Bank’. According to the police, after a peaceful rally, several people started making barricades, damaging urban furniture and several vehicles parked in the street and burning containers. As firefighters couldn’t control the different fires which occurred, the police decided to start a baton charge. According to some of the demonstrators, the agents were using foam projectiles and pictures of wounded people appeared on social media. The riots resulted in several wounded amongst the troublemakers and the police, and one person was arrested. The ‘Expropriated Bank’in Gracia was initially an office of the Caixa Tarragona bank. The building was occupied in 2011 and has since been integrated into the neighbourhood as a community centre. 

Catalan President, Artur Mas, appeared this Thursday before the court, after being summonsed by Catalonia's Supreme Court for organising the 9-N symbolic vote in 2014. "The success and international impact of the 9-N consultation is what motivated this lawsuit" he stated "this summons responds to the Spanish Government's anger rather than legal reasons". Mas arrived at Barcelona's Courthouse by foot and was joined by the 400 Catalan mayors from the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI) and the entire Catalan Government. Right in front of the Court, thousands of people displaying Catalan flags rallied around the President and openly showed their opposition to Catalonia's Supreme Court's decision to summons Mas, which has been regarded as a political decision. Mas appeared before the court two days after Catalan Minister for Education Irene Rigau and former vice-president Joana Ortega and right after attending the commemorative events for the 75^th anniversary of President Companys' execution. 

Citizens all across Catalonia expressed their opposition to Catalonia's Supreme Court's decision to summons President Artur Mas, Catalan Minister for Education Irene Rigau and former vice-president Joana Ortega for organising the 9-N symbolic vote. This Tuesday, after Rigau and Ortega appeared before the court, thousands of people gathered together in front of their respective town halls, showing their support for the summonsed and declaring themselves guilty for participating in the 9-N consultation. The protests were organised by Alliance for the Right to Self-Determination of Catalonia ('Pacte Nacional pel Dret a Decidir'), a group of 1,500 institutions, political parties, trade unions, business organisations, professional associations, NGOs, cultural organisations and political pressure groups that support the celebration of a referendum in Catalonia. 

The first two public figures summonsed by Catalonia's Supreme Court for organising the 9-N symbolic vote on independence in 2014, Catalan Minister for Education, Irene Rigau, and former vice-president Joana Ortega, have appeared before the court today. Outside Barcelona Courthouse, around 500 citizens, brought together by civil society associations such as pro-independence Catalan National Assembly, showed their support for both of the summonsed and openly expressed their opposition to Catalonia's Supreme Court's decision, which has been regarded as a political judgment against Catalonia's right to decide its political future. Members of pro-independence unitary list 'Junts Pel Sí', liberal party CDC, left wing pro-independence party ERC, radical left CUP, Christian-democrat 'Unió' and alternative left coalition 'Catalunya Sí que es Pot' also took part in the protests, which are considered "a direct attack on justice's independence" by Catalonia's Supreme Court. 

In an operation against illegal street vendors, most of whom are from Western Africa and have no legal residence permit, a Senegalese citizen aged 50 died after falling from the third floor of an apartment building in Salou, an important tourist town on the Costa Daurada. According to the Catalan Police – called Mossos d’Esquadra – the victim accidentally died while trying to escape from agents who had just broken into the apartment. When police tore down the front door, the victim tried to escape via the balcony but fell to his death without the agents having even the time to “interact” with him, stated the Mossos Spokesperson. However, the Senegalese community believe the police officers threw the victim off the balcony, killing him. Violent protests erupted immediately, with around 150 Senegalese nationals throwing stones at police and intermittently obstructing the railway which crosses Salou.

The City Council of the Catalan capital has announced it will remit 80% of the fine on tourist apartments with no licence located in Barcelona's Ciutat Vella district if the owners put the property up for social housing rent for a minimum of 3 years. Once this period is over, the owner will be able to extend the social rent or pay the remaining 20% of the fine. The City Council explained that the initiative is "a pilot test" in order "to start changing the city's tourist model", as tourists are too concentrated in some areas. This has created some friction with locals, mostly due to some visitors' wild street parties and to the rise in rent prices, as many properties have been transformed into tourist rentals, quite often without a licence. In this vein, the City Council will ask digital platforms such as Airbnb for the identification data of all their rentals in Barcelona. These platforms will be fined for each illegal flat on offer or if they refuse to issue the requested list.

Barcelona is the 4^th most visited city in Europe and the 16^th in the world, welcoming 8 million tourists each year. It is acknowledged to be Spain's industrial hub where international trade fairs and conferences are being held. In addition, it is one of the top destinations among Erasmus students and the main cruise ship harbour in Europe. However, thanks to cheap airlines, Barcelona has also developed a reputation for low-cost tourism that often focuses on holidays of beach, booze and partying. On the one hand, this shows the young and fun atmosphere of the city and contributes significantly to the economy. On the other hand, according to locals, the so-called ''drunken tourism'' tarnishes Barcelona's reputation and has negative impacts. The City Council aims to control this kind of tourism and is currently attempting to introduce stricter regulations for holiday rent apartments. It has already banned land-based bar crawls around the city and wants to ensure the legality of alcohol-based boat trips as it does not have control over the city's waters.