Riots in Barcelona

It appears civil unrest is still rocking Barcelona a week on from the start of the latest problems. The reason for the protests is the imprisonment of nine pro-independence leaders for their part in the failed secession attempt in 2017.

Every night over the past week has seen protesters out in the city clashing with police. There have been reports of petrol bombs, acid and concrete being thrown at police, also bins being set on fire and police vehicles damaged. Riot police have been firing rubber bullets, using tear gas and water cannons in attempts to control the violence.

Spain’s interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska reported 101 injuries to police on Friday alone. More than 250 police vehicles have been seriously damaged over the last week.

Unfortunately, this is not the first occasion of such trouble in Barcelona as individuals unite to seek independence for Catalonia. This takes me back to 2014 when, on our family holiday, we found ourselves in the midst of a riot. Having just eaten out near the harbour area we had started to walk back to our hotel. At the time our daughter was just two years of age and in her pushchair. We had just reached the bottom of Las Ramblas when we heard lots of sirens and gunshots before we could even think we became engulfed by loud rioting crowds. Along with other innocent members of the public, we began to run, ending up taking shelter in a restaurant some way off Las Ramblas. The staff were great and provided refuge in the kitchen area whilst the trouble passed. It certainly got the adrenalin pumping running through Barcelona with a pushchair unaware of what exactly was happening. Luckily our daughter has no recollection of the incident!

We managed to join our Cruise the following day with no issues and Barcelona returned to normal and I am pleased to say the issues there have not effected any of the cruise ships departing or returning.

 

 

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About Me

Hello, I'm Carl, I was born and still live in Leeds, West Yorkshire with my wife, our  3 year old daughter Ava, along with our first 'child' our 12 year old dog Molly. Since an early age I have always loved being on holiday. From a young age I spent…

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