Potential Political Unrest in Barcelona – August 9 and Beyond

hard to believe that it has already been seven years!

Carlos, with respect, you're of course entitled to your opinion, but if you "just want to inform", your wording should be neutral, and it is certainly not -to say the least!

Besides, the vast majority of protests in Catalonia for this reason have always been just that, protests -the cornerstone of any democracy-... and not riots. I disagree with the alarming tone of this note.

I disagree that there is too alarming tone, I could have put a lot more details, I never mentioned riots in my op. Although it is an alarming situation overall. Here's what happened last time btw, I doubt it will be this bad again though (hopefully): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/18/catalonia-general-strike-protests-independence

I'll leave it at that.

Although this won't impact me since I'm not heading to Barcelona in August, I just wanted to say that I appreciate these kind of posts since, as you mentioned, the rest of us outside the area aren't always aware. I like to be as informed as possible about what's going on in an area I'm planning to visit so I can take any necessary precautions.

I've had to rearrange travel plans around train strikes in Italy a few times that I probably wouldn't have known about if it wasn't for this forum, so I appreciate any/all updates.

I had travel planned to include Barcelona 7 years ago and found your posts very helpful. I ultimately changed plans so that once in Spain I was enjoying my days rather than stressing about Barcelona activities that were scheduled for the last part of the trip.
At that time, Barcelona police had a Twitter account and did at least daily English updates...listing key areas of protests, areas to avoid, dates for taxi and transport strikes. I found it helpful to put things into perspective and to know that as an independent traveler I could have some real details and act accordingly.
Carlos, do they still have something similar, of is it only used in acute situations?

Hey Maria, here are the Twitter accounts of the two main police in Barcelona:

https://x.com/mossos

https://x.com/gubbarcelona

I'm not sure about the updates in English though.

Thanks for the Twitter accounts. I can understand if English updates are not regular practice, but you remember the uproar in 2017, and I did follow them at that time and could find english posts...though i frequent. It may have just been during the acute time when there were numerous actions going on that could affect tourists.
I know it was reassuring to get 'just the facts, ma'am' and from a reliable source.

Update: Tomorrow Thursday Aug 8th at 9 am in Ciutadella Park will be the site of a separatist mobilization to "welcome" Carles Puigdemont back from exile. The park is being sealed off as we speak by a police operation, the police still have orders to arrest Puigdemont on site. Best is to avoid Ciutadella Park tomorrow as the situation may escalate.

https://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20240807/9856963/mossos-ultiman-dispositivo-blindar-ciutadella-detener-expresident.html

https://elpais.com/espana/elecciones-catalanas/2024-08-07/puigdemont-anuncia-que-emprende-su-viaje-de-vuelta-a-cataluna-para-estar-en-el-parlament.html

Carlos, Thank you for this post. As an avid news consumer in California, I have not seen even one story on this. And, yes, the potential is there that Mr. Puigdemont’s return may create a lot more news in the coming days. It seems the Barcelona Zoo has already been sealed off from the Parliament building to prevent any unauthorized access to the Parliament.
Safe Travels!

It was covered in The Guardian Wednesday.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/07/carles-puigdemont-vows-to-return-to-spain-in-headache-for-ruling-coalition

UPDATE: Blockades of various roads across Barcelona and Catalonia due to ongoing police operation.

Several roads around Barcelona have been blocked by the Mossos d'Esquadra police operation to try to locate and arrest former president Carles Puigdemont, following his reappearance in Barcelona and speech at the Arco del Triunfo this morning. After his short speech, Puigdemont fled the scene by car, his whereabouts are currently unknown.

There are delays on the Litoral ring road between Barceloneta and the Zona Franca in the Llobregat direction and between Rambla Prim and Bon Pastor in the Besós direction. Also on the Ronda de Dalt between Sent Gervasi and Esplugues in the Llobregat direction and between Vall d'Hebron and Nus de la Trinitat in the Besòs direction. On the B-23, 1 kilometer of retention has occurred in Esplugues and another 4 kilometers between Molins de Rei and El Papiol in the direction of Martorell. On the AP-7 checks are also carried out on vehicles heading towards France.

There is also tension outside the Parliament during the investiture session. Mossos d'Esquadra officers guarding the entrance to the Parliament and a group of pro-independence protesters have engaged in a series of scuffles when some of them tried to enter the grounds where the Parliament is located and disrupt the investiture session. The investiture process for the new regional president of Catalonia is supposed to last until later this evening. Best to avoid the area around the Parliament of Catalonia building in Ciutadella Park.

The situation is still evolving, it appears Puigdemont had an inside man in the local police that helped him evade arrest. Honestly don't know if I'm watching a Mission Impossible or Marx bros. movie lol!

From the Associated Press:
The Catalan police issued this statement in connection with Puigdemont’s disappearance after his speech today in Barcelona: “Officers initially held back from swooping to arrest Puigdemont out of concern the move might cause “public disorder,” a police statement of the Mossos d’ Esquadra— the Catalan police—said.
“Officers tried to stop the fleeing vehicle, but were unable to do so,” it said, though, it added that further arrests were expected.
The statement didn’t elaborate.
About three hours after Puigdemont vanished, Catalan police— called Mossos d’ Esquadral—called off traffic checks without saying why, but later said they resumed them after a couple hours.

“Catalan police arrested one of their own officers on charges of aiding Puigdemont’s getaway, suspecting Puigdemont used the officer’s private car,” the police force’s press office told the Associated Press.
No further details were available.

I sound like a Guardian fanboy posting all these links, but it is the paper I've read since I started choosing my own news at about 11 or 12 years old :)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/08/catalonia-police-hunt-carlos-puigdemont-spain

Fairly objective summary of today's events I think. Nothing to trouble the casual visitor, and I think you need to be fairly well-versed in Catalan and Spanish politics to take sides.

Update: Illa confirmed president of Catalonia, investiture session now concluded. Puigdemont's whereabouts remains unknown. It is also unknown if the police will continue their roadblocks or what kind of popular response will be if Puigdemont is arrested.

Anyone coming over the border by car into France will have a long wait right now as the police are searching for M. Puigdemont.

I suspect Mr. Puigdemont may be in a car approaching the French border wearing a Halloween mask of French President Macron— and the police will simply wave him into France.

I just came across this article on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy4er50ejro

Were any of the members on this site affected?

Enric and Carlos, I find you both so helpful. I do not mind opposing viewpoints.

My visit is October. Hope everyone is happy

Well, it turns out the alarmist tone was unwarranted, wasn't it? I'm sorry to say, but you misread the situation. Your legitimate point of view seems to prevent you from understanding the mindset of most pro-independence Catalans. Rioting is not and has never been, in principle, part of the approach. While one's point of view is commendable, it's essential to exercise caution when discussing these issues. It's best to stick to reporting the facts without speculation, especially in a public forum. This is particularly important as it can cause unnecessary anxiety for those who have booked their holidays in Barcelona. And I feel is most appropriate to leave this discussion here -at least on my part.

Couldn't help yourself Enric lol

I certainly did not misread the situation, and as I already pointed out I never mentioned riots in the original post. I saw there was a need to share about a political situation unfolding that could be potentially disruptive in Barcelona for travelers, no one could have predicted how it would turn out in the end, and I thought it was important to maintain flexibility for potential outcomes.

As it turned out, it was disruptive for travelers in Barcelona, especially those coming into Barcelona from France. Many posters on this topic are commenting that this is helpful, especially as it wasn't being covered by the international press until after the fact, and the webmaster has decided to leave this topic up, I would consider that a vindication.

I know you are just trying to provoke me to get this topic taken down, you could have easily sent me a PM. I hope the webmaster will leave it up in case there are further developments. I think it is too early to definitively close the book on what's going on.

Between street crime, drought, agressive anti tourist movements and political unrest, unless you are looking for some sort of adventure tourism, can't imagine going to Barcelona right now.

EDIT: Barcelona in general is among the places I would live to see ... when circumstances are such that I will enjoy the planning, be at peace waiting till departure day, and enjoy being there.

Between street crime, drought, agressive anti tourist movements and political unrest, unless you are looking for some sort of adventure tourism, can't imagine going to Barcelona right now.

Perhaps all but anti tourist movements found in the Great Republics of USA and Texas.

Hey -- if Mr. E can dis Spain without anyone calling him out for it besides me, I don't want to hear any more grumbling when I rag on Germany.

Note to moderator -- if this is too off-topic please just delete the comment, not the thread.

Thanks and accolades to all for making this an informative and thoughtful thread— that’s not always what happens when the topic centers around a political leader.
The Catalans have an admirable way of disagreeing without being disagreeable. And I think the lesson of the day for me is that Carles Puigdemont— whatever his transgressions were that the powers-that-be in 2017 wanted him behind bars— today must be very admired and respected throughout Spain.

He returned to his home to voice his belief
that it’s only with the consent of the people that a government has legitimacy.
And then, in peace, he vanished.

Update: Police checkpoints to arrest Puigdemont are still active in Catalonia this morning. This operation continues to cause long traffic delays at strategic points on the border between France and Spain.

If you want to understand the history of Catalonia, here's a wonderful museum. We spent the full day there, but more practical, sensible people will get a good understanding in a couple of hours.
https://www.mhcat.cat/enmhc/about_the_museum

UPDATE:
ABC News reported in the last hour that Mr. Puigdemont’s chief lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, said today that Puigdemont is now back at his residence near Brussels, Belgium.

Eh... Can they not just settle it like adults instead of all this palaver? It doesn't reflect well on either side.

Anyway, with all this nitty gritty, it's getting a bit far off topic for travel. I'm glad this thread came up. It led me to read quite a bit aside from headline news and I now have a better understanding of Catalan independence politics. Cheers Carlos!

Please keep replies related to how this might logistically affect travelers (transportation disruptions, etc.).