State of alarm

Violent protests against lockdown in several Spanish cities

Thirty-two arrests in Madrid

Logroño was one of the cities where there were protests on Saturday night. | Efe (Raquel Manzanares)

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma01/11/2020 15:16

On Saturday night, the National Police in Madrid arrested 32 people following violent disturbances in the city centre. Protesting against the latest confinement, dozens of people took to the Gran Via, setting light to rubbish containers and erecting barricades.

The police cleared the Puerta del Sol, where a demonstration was taking place. The protesters moved to the Plaza de Ópera and then to Plaza España, where barricades were set up with the aim of cutting off the Gran Via.

In Logroño (La Rioja), seven National Police officers were injured and at least six people were arrested. The government delegation in La Rioja said that some "150 radicals" had thrown stones, flares and other objects at the police.

There were disturbances in Arrasate, Bilbao, Eibar and Vitoria in the Basque Country. In Bilbao, a protest against the curfew had been called via social media. There were four arrests for throwing flares at police and for public order offences.

Five people were arrested and a police officer was injured in Santander (Cantabria). Rubbish containers were set on fire after some fifty people were dispersed from the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.