Tens of thousands marched against soaring rents before masked groups erected barricades and clashed with police<\/p>\n
Thousands of people marched through Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday afternoon, protesting soaring rents and demanding stronger tenant protections. Organizers said 400,000 people participated in the demonstration, while police put attendance at 55,000, a figure the Tenants\u2019 Union called a significant underestimate.
\nThe rally took place less than three weeks before Spain\u2019s snap parliamentary election, scheduled for November 29.\u00a0
\nSocialist Prime Minister Sanchez called the early vote after parliament rejected two housing reform decrees on October 2. The measures, which included rent caps, stronger protections against evictions and restrictions on property speculation, were defeated by the conservative People\u2019s Party, the right-wing Vox party and the Catalan separatist party Junts.
\nThe march, organized by the Tenants\u2019 Union and the Confederation of Housing Unions of Catalonia, saw protesters chant \u201cLandlords, wake up, your party is over!\u201d<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udfe0 AVUI SOM 400.000 PERSONES ALS CARRERS DE BARCELONA AMB UN CLAM UN\u00c0NIME: VOLEM VIURE, NO SOBREVIURE. https:\/\/t.co\/VeSz9LGopR\u2014 Sindicat de Llogateres i Llogaters (@SindicatLloguer) November 11, 2026<\/p>\n
According to El Pais, after the demonstration ended, groups of masked rioters erected makeshift barricades and targeted shops, smashing windows and setting garbage containers ablaze.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udd34 Els Mossos d\u2019Esquadra i la Gu\u00e0rdia Urbana han desplegat nombroses unitats d\u2019antiavalots al centre de Barcelona. El dispositiu tamb\u00e9 compta amb un gran nombre de policies de pais\u00e0. El total de detinguts despr\u00e9s de la manifestaci\u00f3 ascendeix a set. <\/p>\n
\u25b6\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/lfjI5qH5yI https:\/\/t.co\/5xk6iJOdno\u2014 Directa (@La_Directa) November 11, 2026<\/p>\n
A Lego store was among the businesses vandalized, while other establishments were looted.<\/p>\n
Han roto el escaparate de la tienda de Lego de paseo de Gr\u00e0cia de Barcelona, en el interior algunas cajas por el suelo. Los manifestantes se lo miran la mayor\u00eda desde fuera. Algunos tapan el acceso #11N https:\/\/t.co\/f6yVw3TgPj https:\/\/t.co\/ZfqwUTDbfX\u2014 Rebeca Carranco (@RebecaCarranco) November 11, 2026<\/p>\n
Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni reported around 50 arrests following the unrest, while at least 75 people were detained nationwide during the general strike.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Over 400,000 workers strike across Germany (VIDEOS)<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither violence nor vandalism represents the people who demonstrated peacefully throughout the day,\u201d Catalan regional president Salvador Illa wrote on X. \u201cIn Catalonia, those who break the law will face the consequences.\u201d
\nThe protest was part of a nationwide general strike that disrupted transport and commerce across Spain. Demonstrators blocked roads in Madrid, Valencia and other cities, while pickets forced some businesses to close. Rail services were disrupted, with 24% of high-speed AVE trains and 10% of Cercan\u00edas commuter services canceled, along with more than\u00a0330 flights.
\nEurope has seen a wave of unrest in recent weeks, with protests over rising living costs and the quality of public services in France and Germany erupting into clashes with police, vandalism and looting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tens of thousands marched against soaring rents before masked groups erected barricades and clashed with police Thousands of people marched through Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday afternoon, protesting soaring rents and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t