Catalonia's interior minister says Barcelona riots were orchestrated to sow chaos

Catalonia's minister of Interior and Public Security, Núria Parlon, asserted that the chaotic clashes on Saturday in Barcelona were the result of a calculated plan to generate ongoing disturbances, rather than a genuine protest for education or housing rights. In interviews with Catalunya Ràdio and RAC1, she emphasized that no recognised social or political organisation was behind the gathering, but that the perpetrators aimed to incite looting and violent disorder.

Parlon announced that the government will request judicial intervention to compel the digital platforms that hosted the mass-messaging groups to disclose the identities of those who organized the riots. Police have so far arrested 128 individuals, 73 of whom are minors, and she warned that further detentions are possible. She also criticised the responses of PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Vox head Santiago Abascal, who accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of responsibility for the unrest.