Barcelona Protests Escalate

 

The Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia's regional police force, surrounded protesting students barricaded in the University of Barcelona campus in the center of the city at 3pm on Wednesday after running battles through nearby streets had left dumpsters and vehicles ablaze in their wake.

As the students retreated to the safety of the campus dozens of anti-riot vehicles appeared on the scene. The disturbances began when a march through the city in protest against planned budget cuts by the Catalonia regional government reached its destination, the Plaça Universitat, after a circle of the city center. Thousands of demonstrators had turned out for a day of strike action, called by the seven public universities in the Catalan capital. As the multitude descended on the square, some demonstrators threw stones at police, who responded with baton charges and even fired warning shots into the air with rubber bullets. At least two protestors have been arrested.

According to the organizers of the protest, 60,000 people heeded the universities' call to take to the streets. Barcelona city authorities put the figure at closer to 25,000. Some 120,000 students, 16,000 teachers and 10,000 administration staff were called upon to strike.

The incidents in Barcelona follow similar disturbances in Valencia over the past two weeks, during which dozens of students, some of them minors, were arrested in violent clashes with police in the city. The Valencia protests were also called against cuts being planned in public education by the regional government.