Dozens of students gathered in Barcelona’s plaza de Cataluña under the Instituts Indignats banner. Clashes with the Mossos d'Esquadra led to closed access routes and shuttered shops.
On Saturday afternoon, 24 October 2026, the Guardia Urbana closed access to Barcelona’s Plaça de Catalunya from Plaça Urquinaona toward Universitat after disturbances developed around the square. Nearby shops lowered their shutters, and a large department store was forced to close amid the disruption.
Police-linked reports said some participants damaged street furniture, including bins and parked motorcycles. Reports also cited damage to bus-stop structures and a traffic light. A barricade made from small containers and rubbish bins was reported at the junction of Carrer de Vergara and Plaça de Catalunya, with motorcycles also forming part of it. Parts of the barricade were set alight, and the glass of two nearby bus shelters was broken. The Mossos d’Esquadra intervened with charges to disperse groups in and around the square. Demonstrators then broke into smaller groups. Some continued to confront officers in surrounding streets.
The gathering was promoted on social media under the name Instituts Indignats, a Catalan adaptation of the French movement Lycées Indignés, which had been associated with student mobilisations in France in recent weeks. Placards carried the slogan “Contra el sistema, institutos en lucha.” Agencia EFE described several dozen participants, while El Correo reported an estimate of about 300 young people. Both the Mossos d’Esquadra and the Guardia Urbana were involved in the gathering.
A separate report on a Cáritas awareness event in Guadalajara described a public gathering focused on homelessness. It was a separate event from the Barcelona student protest.
