Violent clashes have broken out between protesters and police across several major Italian cities and in central Barcelona, with law enforcement officers deploying tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds hurling projectiles and setting fires.
In Italy, police deployed tear gas in Turin after demonstrators threw bottles and fireworks at security personnel.
In Rome, officers fired water cannon and tear gas as protesters hurled bottles during a street march.
In Bologna, police pushed back demonstrators after facing volleys of bottles and firecrackers, while cordons blocked protesters from entering central districts of Milan and Florence.
Italian police also conducted more than 150 property searches across Milan, neighbouring Monza, and 20 other cities connected to unrest from earlier protests, investigating alleged plots to attack officers, damage vehicles, and commit arson, the ANSA news agency reported.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi stated that authorities had bolstered security in sensitive urban areas and would respond firmly to violence.
Youth unrest in Barcelona
In Spain, police intervened after a youth-led protest in central Barcelona escalated into violence.
Hundreds of demonstrators dressed in black assembled at Catalonia Square under the hashtag "Institut Indignats", drawing inspiration from France's Lycees Indignes student movement.
Some demonstrators looted shops, ignited rubbish bins, and threw stones and bottles at security lines, triggering police intervention.
Following the charge, crowds dispersed into side streets where further clashes erupted, leaving several people injured and others arrested.
The violence unfolded near a long-standing encampment demanding housing rights, situated amid crowds of residents and tourists.
Barcelona's municipal police, the Guardia Urbana, closed multiple central thoroughfares, while nearby shopkeepers pulled down security shutters to avert vandalism.
Salvador Illa, president of the Catalan regional government, condemned the disorder on the X platform, writing: "An attack, a threat or an act of causing damage is not a democratic right. Anyone who does this will pay the price," adding that violence has no justification.
