Two counter-protests were scheduled in Pamplona before Quiles’s event, prompting a large police deployment. The Navarra government condemned his rhetoric and rejected any violent response.
Vito Quiles spent about 10 minutes in Plaza de Yamaguchi on Thursday, then left in a van. Demonstrators threw bottles and stones at one another. Containers were overturned, and police detained at least one person. Later reports put the total at three arrests: one by the Policía Nacional and two by the Policía Foral. Diario de Navarra reported that four officers suffered light injuries. Euronews said one participant was hit in the head by a foam bullet.
Police used tear gas. Officers also fired rubber bullets and charged demonstrators.
The rally was part of Quiles’s Spain tour under the slogan “Mafia o Patria”. It was scheduled for 6pm and marked the first stop on a planned tour of 14 Spanish cities. Two counter-protests were called for half an hour earlier, one in Plaza del Castillo and another in Plaza de la Compañía. The Delegación del Gobierno en Navarra moved Quiles’s event from Plaza del Castillo to Yamaguchi after police warned of a risk of further unrest. Policía Nacional and Policía Foral mounted a large security operation at Plaza de Yamaguchi, where Quiles was due to address supporters.
About 100 supporters greeted him with chants and banners reading “Fascista el que te silencia” and “Libertad de Expresión”. Euronews counted fewer than 100 Quiles supporters and described several hundred people opposing the event. Diario de Navarra put the protest crowd at about 3,500. During his brief speech, Quiles said “Navarra es más española que nunca”. His supporters replied, “Pedro Sánchez, hijo de puta”.
Quiles said the right would send the current government “al vertedero de la historia” in the next general election, scheduled for 29 November. RUSSPAIN.COM has also covered Spain’s election timetable.
At the counter-demonstration in Plaza del Castillo, people chanted “Euskal Herria no al fascismo” and “Fuera fascistas de nuestras calles”. A march called by GKS Iruñerria left Plaza de la Compañía and crossed the old town, with participants chanting “Ante el fascismo, unidad de clase”. Europa Press reported that a group overturned containers and blocked traffic. Police intervention officers charged the crowd and used tear gas.
Clashes continued after Quiles left. Reports said containers were overturned and roads blocked elsewhere in the city, including Avenida de Bayona and Barnañáin.
The incident follows a controversy involving Quiles and members of the Spanish Legion. On Monday, after the 12 October parade, Quiles boarded a bus at Madrid’s Plaza de Colón as Legion members travelled back to their base in Viator, Almería. Soldiers chanted his name and shouted when he yelled “¡A por los rojos!”. Quiles recorded the exchange and posted the video online. The Army has opened an investigation into legionaries who cheered him and joined his exhortations.
A Quiles event at the University of Pamplona last year also ended in incidents. Two people were detained. El Español journalist José Ismael Martínez was attacked by hooded assailants while reporting on the clashes; his outlet described the attack as “brutalmente”.
After Thursday’s events, the Government of Navarra condemned Quiles’s “discursos de odio” and categorically rejected any violent response. Sources in the regional government said his conduct and polarising rhetoric clashed with the values of respect and coexistence associated with Navarrese society. The government described Navarra as welcoming and plural, and said everyone is free to travel and express themselves within the fundamental rights protected by democracy. It said freedom of expression cannot justify hate speech. Nor can it excuse intolerance or confrontation. The Sindicato Unificado de Policía in Navarra praised the Policía Nacional’s response as professional and called its handling of the unrest “impeccable”.
