Barcelona Diada clashes lead to 18 arrests as parties question police conduct

Clashes across central Barcelona

The 2026 National Day of Catalonia in Barcelona ended with 18 arrests for public disorder, including 10 minors, alongside minor injuries sustained by nine Mossos d'Esquadra officers. Most arrests took place around the Arc de Triomf and Passeig de Sant Joan, where around 200 hooded individuals confronted police, set fire to waste containers, and threw bar terrace chairs and projectiles at police lines. Municipal firefighters from Bombers de Barcelona deployed to extinguish container fires burning near Ronda de Sant Pere after 20:00 and continuing past 21:00. Police detained 17 people in that sector, comprising nine minors and eight adults, following repeated dispersal maneuvers.

Confrontations between political groups

The unrest originated around 18:00 at Plaça Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer along Avinguda Diagonal, where about 20 members of the ultra-nationalist organization Núcleo Nacional held a rally titled "Catalanidad es Hispanidad". Around 1,000 antifascist protesters mobilized by the Organización Juvenil Socialista arrived to confront the gathering. Mossos d'Esquadra officers cordoned off the far-right group, engaging in baton strikes and dispersal actions when antifascist demonstrators hurled objects at police lines. The ultra group left the site, after which clashes shifted south along Passeig de Sant Joan toward independentist musical events at Arc de Triomf.

Separate tensions occurred at Plaça de Catalunya after the main demonstration organized by the Assemblea Nacional Catalana and Òmnium Cultural. Activists from the Organización Juvenil Socialista gathered near Aliança Catalana leader and deputy Sílvia Orriols. Riot police established a perimeter to shield Orriols as demonstrators attempted to breach police cordons, resulting in the arrest of another minor. The events followed three arrests on Thursday night at Fossar de les Moreres during confrontations between left-wing independentists and Aliança Catalana, with the duty judge releasing all three detainees on charges.

Reactions to police actions and detention of minors

On Saturday, Catalan political parties and civil society groups demanded accountability over the police response and the detention conditions of underage demonstrators. Junts spokesperson Salvador Vergés announced that his parliamentary group would submit formal questions to Interior and Public Safety Minister Núria Parlon, citing excessive force and lack of communication with relatives. Vergés also referenced the upcoming formal appointment on Tuesday of Ferran López as director general of the Mossos.

The shadow of 155 that President Illa has placed at the head of the police will not be officially appointed until Tuesday, but it seems that his style is already beginning to take effect.

The Assemblea Nacional Catalana criticized the detention of minors and said it is examining legal avenues against police actions. The organization stated that parents were left without information for over six hours after the arrests and reported intimidating remarks by officers. Separately, ANC president Josep Vila addressed the burning of a Spanish flag by three hooded individuals during the main Diada march, noting that the act was unplanned. Attendance for the main civic demonstration was estimated at 45,000 by the Guàrdia Urbana and 130,000 by the organizers.