Fires damaged rubbish containers and vehicles, including a local police motorcycle, in Bilbao’s Deusto district on 26 October 2026. At least 14 people were detained. The arrests followed protests around a Vito Quiles event that was cancelled before it began. EFE reported that Basque lehendakari Imanol Pradales confirmed the figure and called the disturbances “intolerable.”
Quiles said the Ertzaintza had warned him of a “very high” risk of incidents if he attended the planned 19:00 gathering. About half an hour before it was due to start, he announced on social media that he was cancelling. He linked the protests to former ETA members and other alleged offenders. The planned appearance was part of his “Tour Combativos II,” promoted as “Tours combativos.”
Deusto University had already suspended all activity at its Bilbao campus from 14:00 and closed the site preventively at 15:00. The private university said it had coordinated with the Ertzaintza after learning of the planned concentration, then followed police guidance to protect students and staff. It said the gathering was external to the institution and that it had neither organised nor endorsed it. The event had not been authorised on university premises. Organisers had planned the public concentration outside the campus.
Protesters stayed near the university after Quiles withdrew. Fires were reported in containers on Francesc Maciá Street and Avenida Lehendakari Agirre, as well as in around half a dozen cars. Firefighters put out the blazes. The Ertzaintza later charged demonstrators and dispersed groups; at least 14 people were detained, information from EFE and Basque officials.
Police had deployed heavily before the event was called off: around 40 patrol cars and mobile-brigade vans guarded the university area. The student union Euskal Herriko Ikasle Antolakunde Sozialista had called a march against Quiles, with students travelling from Plaza Elíptica to Deusto Bridge. Students and social groups had mobilised against the planned visit. ErNE, the Basque police union, later criticised what it called the rapid dismantling of the police deployment.
Bilbao was the third stop on Quiles’s “Tour Combativos II”, promoted under the slogan “Mafia o patria”. The tour began in Pamplona on 15 October. It also included Barcelona and Zaragoza. On 19 October in Barcelona, Quiles failed to hold an event at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, or UAB, and went instead to an Ikea store in Sabadell. Three days later, police intervened in Zaragoza as objects were thrown between supporters and antifascist protesters.
For readers following other practical issues in Spain, a separate EV charging rules guide explains responsibility for private charging points in shared garages.
Basque Security condemned the disturbances, while lehendakari Imanol Pradales said those responsible for incidents and fires would be detained. After confirming that 14 people had been detained, he also called the unrest “intolerable.”
