Barcelona disorder and clashes across Italy follow separate protest calls

• Around 600 people gathered near Plaça de Catalunya at the height of Saturday’s Barcelona unrest; officials reported 14 affected shops, 33 fires and about 100 detentions.¹
• In Italy, clashes were reported in Turin, Rome and Bologna, with disruption in Florence and Padua.²
• A late-Saturday Italian police tally was provisional: nine arrests and 371 people taken to police offices.²
• The Barcelona call echoed French protests, while a large march in Paris ended with clashes near Porte de Vincennes.³⁴

The latest confirmed unrest in Barcelona and Italy took place on Saturday, 24 October. In Barcelona, an online-called gathering near Plaça de Catalunya escalated into shop looting, fires and clashes with police. In Italy, confrontations were reported in Turin, Rome and Bologna, with disruption in Florence and Padua. The reporting describes separate local events, not a centrally coordinated wave.¹²

Barcelona’s unrest began at about 18:00. Catalan officials said around 600 people were present at the peak and reported 14 shops vandalised or looted and 33 fires. About 100 people were detained, roughly a quarter of them minors. Police said masked groups burned bins, damaged street furniture and threw stones at officers; the reports do not identify who committed particular acts. Access around the square was restricted, nearby shops closed and trains stopped serving Plaça de Catalunya station during the unrest.¹⁵

The call circulated under “Institut Indignats”, echoing the French phrase “Lycées Indignés”. A Barcelona business association had warned members about messages in closed chat groups urging people to imitate French protests. This documents an influence on the call, though its authors and any direct coordination with French groups remain unverified. The full call history and private chats have not been independently authenticated, so the gathering’s precise demands remain unclear. Catalan officials said it was separate from a nearby housing-rights encampment.³⁵

Italy’s demonstrations followed clashes and looting the previous weekend. Protesters voiced varied grievances, including living costs, fuel prices, schools, housing, public services and opposition to rearmament. In Turin, attempts to push through police cordons were followed by objects, stones and bottles thrown; police used tear gas and charged. In Rome, clashes began after the notified anti-war march had ended. Florence saw tram services interrupted, while demonstrators in Padua tried to occupy the station. By contrast, Reuters reported that Milan’s march of about 10,000 people was largely peaceful, with its witnesses seeing no looting or property damage.⁶⁷⁸

The Italian Interior Public Security Department’s late-Saturday figures were provisional: nine arrests, 87 people reported to authorities, 371 taken to police offices—including 110 minors—and 4,292 identified. Youssef Siher was under investigation for alleged aggravated incitement; Reuters reported that police took a person allegedly linked to organising the Movimento 17 ottobre to Milan police headquarters for questioning. These investigative steps do not establish that Siher directed specific acts of violence. The movement’s manifesto expressed distrust of established political structures, while no verified funding trail for the movement or the violence was established in the examined reporting.²⁹¹⁰⁸

Paris offers context for the Barcelona slogan, not evidence of a common operation. The 24 October march there was peaceful for much of its route before clashes near Porte de Vincennes; police said they used water cannon and tear gas after projectiles were thrown. The Paris police prefecture estimated 110,000 participants in the city, while the CGT union put the figure at 250,000. In Milan, separate student and pro-Palestinian contingents joined the same march, which ended without incident; the reporting does not link that contingent to violence elsewhere. Early on Sunday, Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, defended the increased army presence.⁴²

Footnotes

1. El País, “Cien detenidos por los disturbios en el centro de Barcelona”: https://www.elpais.com/espana/catalunya/2026-10-24/centenares-de-jovenes-violentos-destrozan-el-centro-de-barcelona.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Rai News, “Cortei: città blindate, scontri a Torino, Roma e Bologna”: https://www.rainews.it/maratona/2026/10/piazze-blindate-e-tensioni-in-tutta-italia-scontri-da-torino-a-roma-5fb7e07d-915d-4050-9725-56cc14b50cc6.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. RTVE Catalunya, “Disturbis al centre de Barcelona en una protesta juvenil”: https://www.rtve.es/catalunya/noticies/20261024/disturbis-centre-barcelona-protesta-juvenil/17282165.shtml ↩ ↩²

4. Le Monde, “Manifestations du 24 octobre : entre 410 000 et 800 000 manifestants…”: https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/live/2026/10/24/en-direct-manifestations-du-24-octobre-entre-410-000-et-800-000-manifestants-corteges-sous-haute-surveillance-tensions-en-fin-de-journee-revivez-la-journee-de-mobilisation_6799445_3224.html ↩ ↩²

5. Agencia EFE, “Un centenar de detenidos en una tarde de disturbios en una protesta juvenil en Barcelona”: https://efe.com/cataluna/2026-10-24/protesta-jovenes-barcelona-choques-policia/ ↩ ↩²

6. Rai News TGR Piemonte, “Violenze e scontri, un altro sabato di alta tensione nel cuore di una Torino blindata”: https://www.rainews.it/tgr/piemonte/video/2026/10/violenze-e-scontri-un-altro-sabato-di-alta-tensione-nel-cuore-di-una-torino-blindata-0e58f1f5-4d6d-4e76-bd45-b4d7990d54e6.html ↩

7. Rai News TGR Lazio, “Scontri al centro di Roma, lanci di bottiglie contro la polizia e idranti sui manifestanti”: https://www.rainews.it/tgr/lazio/articoli/2026/10/scontri-al-centro-di-roma-cariche-e-idranti-sui-manifestanti-826baba5-999b-4951-8564-a7d1e62abc63.html ↩

8. Reuters, republished by Internazionale, “Protests sweep Italian cities amid heavy security presence, some violence reported”: https://www.internazionale.it/ultime-notizie-reuters/2026/10/24/protests-sweep-italian-cities-amid-heavy-security-presence-some-violence-reported ↩ ↩²

9. ANSA, “La mente del M1710 indagato per istigazione a delinquere aggravata”: https://www.ansa.it/lombardia/notizie/2026/10/24/la-mente-del-m1710-indagato-per-istigazione-a-delinquere-aggravata_7e0b6362-cd8b-4931-8f2e-f9ad73714eb7.html ↩

10. Il Fatto Quotidiano, “Movimento 17 ottobre, presunto organizzatore indagato per istigazione a delinquere”: https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2026/10/24/movimento-17-ottobre-indagato-notizie/8548743/ ↩