Feijóo blames Sánchez for Barcelona unrest

At least 14 police officers were among those injured in the Barcelona disturbances on Saturday night, which left more than 120 people hurt. The unrest broke out around Plaça de Catalunya and central Barcelona, where fires were set to barricades and bins; urban furniture was also targeted. Reuters reported that some protesters looted shops and set fire to public facilities, and that about 100 people were detained. The Mossos d’Esquadra intervened, deploying armoured vans and making limited charges after firefighters put out a barricade fire. At a pre-campaign event in Salamanca, PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo blamed Pedro Sánchez for the unrest and accused his government of resisting a transfer of power through violence.

Feijóo said Sánchez had undermined peace in Spain and was playing with fire. He condemned the street violence and expressed solidarity with those affected, as well as with security forces who had worked to protect residents. He said that in a democracy, political differences should be defended with arguments, never violence. These were political accusations made at a campaign event; the source material does not establish that Sánchez caused the disturbances.

The PP leader also tied the unrest to what he described as the government’s political strategy, saying its supporters were encouraging hostility. He warned against attempts to obstruct democratic alternation and criticised Sánchez for appearing to offer lessons on peace.

Housing was another major part of Feijóo’s speech. He said some 35-year-olds still live in their childhood bedrooms at their parents’ homes, while some families spend more than half their income on rent. He accused the government of making announcements without delivering enough homes. The housing debate comes amid a gap between household formation and completed construction. Figures cited from official statistics show roughly 240,000 new households formed in 2025, compared with about 93,650 homes completed. Around 139,000 construction permits were granted. A Banco de España estimate cited in reporting puts Spain’s accumulated housing deficit at about one million homes by 2028 if construction continues to lag behind household formation.

His proposed response is to build one million homes during the next legislative term by making more land available and reducing barriers. The PP has also proposed tax deductions for tenants and landlords and says it would pass housing legislation within the first 100 days of a PP government, including measures to accelerate construction and remove illegal occupants within 48 hours. These are pledges, not a completed housing programme or enacted laws. The one-million-home target would average 250,000 homes a year over a four-year term. Government figures cited in the housing debate use a different measure: Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez said more than 940,000 new homes had received permits during Sánchez’s governments. Permits and completed homes remain distinct measures. In response to Feijóo, she said, “Lo del millón, pues se lo igualo.”

Feijóo also called for tax cuts and promised to protect pensions for younger people, saying future governments should not use them as leverage.

Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, the president of Castilla y León, backed Feijóo at the event and promised the PP’s mobilisation across the region’s nine provinces. He called for an end to what he described as a failed and murky government. PP spokeswoman Ester Muñoz separately accused Sánchez of incompetence and alleged that he was granting Spanish passports to create new voters.

Muñoz also blamed the government for financial pressure on families and pensioners, and for policies she said had harmed young people and self-employed workers. Her remarks were part of the party’s attack on Sánchez. A previous clash involving the Spanish prime minister featured Argentina’s Javier Milei; the report on Milei’s visit covered his call to expel Spanish socialists.