For the second night in a row, violent protests against restrictions on public life due to the coronavirus pandemic broke out in Spain. In the capital Madrid yesterday evening there was a peaceful demonstration against the restrictions under the motto “We are taking to the streets, the people are fed up”.
When this was broken up, smaller violent groups had fought street battles with the police, reported the state television RTVE. The television pictures showed burning dumpsters and people throwing stones and throwing in shop windows.
30 people were arrested and three police officers were injured. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the protests of a few, which were marked by “irrationality and violence”, were unacceptable.
Demos also in Barcelona and other cities
There were also violent protests in Barcelona, which broke out after a demonstration against evictions of defaulting tenants. A person was arrested there.
The night before, 20 police officers and seven demonstrators were injured in street battles with, according to police, mainly right-wing hooligans, and 15 people were arrested. Further protests in the night to today with isolated arrests and injuries were reported from the cities of Logrono, San Sebastian, Vitoria, La Rioja and Malaga, among others.
Extension of the alarm state
Spain is one of the countries in Western Europe hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis. On Thursday, parliament approved the extension of the state of alarm – the third highest level of emergency – until May 9th.
13 of the 17 autonomous communities sealed off their territory for up to two weeks. In Catalonia, people are no longer allowed to leave their hometowns on weekends. In many cities, such as Barcelona, there are night curfews. Restaurants, cinemas, theaters and fitness clubs are closed, only kindergartens and schools are still open.
