Today’s signing of the pact between the PSOE and Junts for the inauguration of Pedro Sánchez, which also includes the granting of amnesty to those indicted in the trial, has caused excitement and increased participation in the protests that have been taking place daily in front of the Federal Office for a week take place at headquarters. Socialist office in Madrid, on Ferraz Street and in front of other party offices in several provinces. The seventh rally in the capital began in front of the European Parliament delegation on the Paseo de la Castellana, where around 1,500 people gathered before heading to Ferraz, leading to traffic closures in numerous places. The government delegation in Madrid estimated the number of participants this evening at around 8,000 people, the largest concentration of the week after Wednesday’s, when 7,000 people gathered. In Granada, too, the protests managed to bring together 3,000 people. Despite the tensions and verbal violence, the rallies were largely peaceful. Among the many participants were those who showed a more eccentric or aggressive attitude and displayed a neo-Nazi aesthetic. However, in Madrid, groups of radicals fired fireworks and flares at the riot police, who were ultimately tasked with dispersing these small violent groups, which then turned to persecuting journalists, until they were stopped by the police. According to the government delegation, at least 14 people were arrested.
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An initial part of the protest in the capital took place in front of the European Parliament offices, but participants later marched towards Ferraz. The march of demonstrators from the Paseo de la Castellana through the boulevards of Madrid was accompanied by traffic stops by the police without incident. At the front, the participants carried the poster of Revuelta, the youth division of Vox, with the motto “Let’s stop the betrayal!” Some cars honked at them and some neighbors came from their balconies shouting “Long live Spain!” Those gathered proclaimed : “You’re not kidding us, Catalonia is Spain!”, “We’re sick to death!” and again: “Puigdemont, go to prison!”
When they arrived in Ferraz, the demonstrators stood in front of a large police barricade, as in the previous days. The participants shouted the usual slogans of the last few days, mainly against Pedro Sánchez. National Police anti-riot agents remain on relative alert. The chant “Let Txapote vote for you” was the most chanted. The front row of the protest, where young people with ultra paraphernalia have gathered since it began last Tuesday, was occupied in the first moments by people of different ages and with uncovered faces.
The protest in Madrid, attended by parents with children, became increasingly heated, with shouts such as “Pedro Sánchez, son of a bitch!”, “These police are with the amnesty!”, “Tomorrow you will say there are five or six.” from us!”, “To Moncloa, oee!” and “Otegi, ETA, your mother is a bitch!” Large Spanish flags flew in the area with the slogans “Long live the unity of Spain!” and posters of “Welcome to 36 Vol. II” were exhibited. The most common flag tonight was the Spanish one with a huge hole and no constitutional shield.
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More elaborate banners with messages not seen in previous days were also seen. Many of them are written in English and ask Europe for help, even linking the amnesty law to terrorism. “Europe saves us from terrorism” [Europa sálvanos del terrorismo] or “PSOE is killing Spanish democracy” [El PSOE está matando la democracia española] are two examples. There are also posters that say “Amnesty for criminals means condemning criminals.”
The leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, joined the rally in Ferraz against the amnesty. Upon his arrival, he received applause from the attendees, who celebrated him by shouting “President!” The leader of the Ultra formation did not want to take the megaphone that a protester offered him to speak to the people who took part in the rally. “I stand like another Spaniard in the face of the greatest attack on the unity of Spain in the entire democratic period,” he said.
From ten o’clock in the evening, radical groups, many wearing masks, began throwing individual objects. First there were a few firecrackers, then several empty beer cans followed. Torches also fell. The majority of those standing next to the Ferraz fence are young people who proclaim: “Philip, Freemason, defend your nation!”, “Here are the nationalists!” or “Feijóo, watch out, you’re next!” Also some “Long live Almudena!” and “José Antonio, cousin of Rivera!”
The peaceful protesters have retreated, leaving a gap between them and the hotheads, many of whom salute Roman-style like Nazis. At around 10:45 p.m., riot police attacked to drive out the most violent groups from the area, who had been booed by numerous participants. The most radical burned containers near a subway entrance and threw objects at police. They then chased journalists, throwing objects at them and insulting them. According to the government delegation in Madrid, ten people were arrested as a result of the riots.
In Granada, according to local police, more than 3,000 people took part in a meeting in the city center at eight o’clock in the afternoon. However, an hour earlier, hundreds of people had already gathered. Insults against the socialist leader and “Let Txapote vote for you” and “Christian Spain will never be Muslim” were among the slogans chanted, according to reports Javier Arroyo.
Meanwhile, in Barcelona, a call in a square has turned into a demonstration towards the government delegation’s headquarters on Gran Vía de Colón. No incident occurred and the National Police are currently escorting the demonstration quietly and without riot gear, it is said Luis Velasco.
A moment of demonstration against the amnesty that took place this Thursday in front of the government delegation in Barcelona. Enric Fontcuberta (EFE)
With the cry “Let’s get them!”, around 50 people joined the protest in Barcelona, a total of around 300 people on the corner of Mallorca and Roger de Llùria, alongside the government delegation. The new demonstrators carry banners that read “Revolt.” They shout “Christian and non-Muslim Spain”. They crowd in front of the fences erected by the police that separate the delegation from the street. The Mossos d’Esquadra cordon off the square to prevent the protest from affecting traffic on nearby Avenida Diagonal. The demonstrators cheer Alejo Vidal-Quadras, who was shot this afternoon on Núñez de Balboa street in Madrid: “We are not alone, Vidal is missing.” The leader of Vox in Catalonia, Ignacio Garriga, is present at the demonstration.
Ignacio Garriga, Vox MP in the Catalan Parliament, joined the demonstration in Barcelona, where he was greeted with cheers and applause. The atmosphere at the protest remains calm, although the flow of people is constant. Garriga agrees with the cry of “Long live Spain!” Jorge Buxadé, Member of the European Parliament for Vox, also joined this protest.
Some of the radicals burned street furniture in Madrid.
Several demonstrators hold Spanish flags during clashes with police this Thursday in Madrid. Samuel Sanchez
Those gathered in the front row of the Madrid protest in front of the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz Street light a flare.Samuel Sanchez
Several people during a sit-in on Ferraz Street. Samuel Sanchez
Concentration this Thursday in front of the PSPV-PSOE headquarters in Valencia against the investiture pacts of the incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Biel Aliño (EFE)
Protesters throw fireworks at police on Ferraz Street in Madrid. NACHO TWELVE (Portal)
They were concentrated in the front row of the Madrid protests in front of the PSOE headquarters in Madrid. Samuel Sanchez
This Thursday, anti-amnesty protesters gathered in front of the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz Street in Madrid. Samuel Sanchez
A young man with a megaphone took part in the protest this Thursday in front of the headquarters of the European Parliament on Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid. Samuel Sanchez
During the anti-amnesty demonstration in front of the PSOE headquarters in Madrid, demonstrators displayed a flag with the motto #SanchezVeteYa. PIERRE PHILIPPE MARCOU (AFP)
Demonstrators wave Spanish flags during the protest in front of the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz con Marqués de Urquijo street in Madrid.Samuel Sánchez
Police cordon off the corner of Ferraz Street and Marqués de Urquijo Street in Madrid during the anti-amnesty protest. Samuel Sanchez
Concentration in front of the PSPV-PSOE headquarters in Valencia against the pact of PSOE and Junts.Biel Aliño (EFE)A moment of demonstration against the amnesty that took place this Thursday in front of the government delegation in Barcelona. Enric Fontcuberta (EFE)
A man holds up a Spanish flag without a sign in front of the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz Street in Madrid this Thursday. Samuel Sanchez
The meeting against the amnesty took place this Thursday at the PSOE headquarters in Toledo. Ángeles Visdómine (EFE)
Several hundred people are taking part in the rally this Thursday on Princesa de Murcia Street, where the regional headquarters of the PSOE is located, to protest against the amnesty law. Marcial Guillén (EFE)
Young people lit candles this Thursday during the demonstration in front of the European Parliament headquarters in Madrid. SUSANA VERA (Portal)
Flags of Spain and Catalonia are waved by demonstrators in front of the PSOE headquarters in Madrid.Samuel Sánchez
Dozens of people left the European Parliament headquarters in Madrid towards Ferraz Street against the amnesty. Matias Chiofalo (Europa Press)
A demonstrator shows a picture of the Immaculate Conception in front of the socialist headquarters in Madrid.Samuel Sánchez
The President of VOX in Murcia and Vice President of the Regional Government, José Ángel Antelo (third from the left), accompanied by the City Councilor of Murcia, Luis Gestoso (left), and the Minister of Development of Murcia, José Manuel Pancorbo (second from the right) accepts, among others the rally this Thursday in Princesa de Murcia street, where the regional headquarters of the PSOE is located. Marcial Guillén (EFE)
Demonstrators displayed banners in front of a police barricade on Ferraz Street in Madrid. Samuel Sanchez
Concentration in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Spain, on Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid. Samuel Sanchez
At the largest gathering in front of the Socialist headquarters in Valencia on the occasion of the amnesty negotiations in recent days, hundreds of people protested and demanded the resignation of the incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the imprisonment of Carles Puigdemont, it is said Ferran Bono. The announcement of the pact between the PSOE and the Junts has encouraged participation and the insults against Sánchez and “the terrorist socialists”, the proclamations for the unity of Spain and for a “Spain, Christian and non-Muslim” have multiplied. There are also more cries against the “manipulative Spanish press” than on previous occasions. The Valencian leadership of Vox was seen at the rally, with national deputies Carlos Flores Juberías and Ignacio Gil Lázaro at the forefront. There were moments of debate among protesters where some began shouting that “the Constitution is destroying the nation” while others denied this.
The concentration called by Revuelta for today in front of the PSOE headquarters in Alicante lasted barely 45 minutes, again without informing the authorities, it is said Rafa Burgos. A third of those present yesterday, about 150 people, including Vox city councilors Carmen Robledillo and Mario Ortolá. While yesterday the police broke up the rally at 10:30 p.m. with a few minor clashes, today it was the organizers themselves who put an end to the protest, with the Spanish anthem as the final act.
Concentration this Thursday in front of the PSPV-PSOE headquarters in Valencia. Biel Aliño (EFE)