An unauthorised protest organised by groups of young people in the Spanish city of Barcelona on Monday evening descended into violence, with around 100 people detained, according to sources in the Catalan regional police, the Mossos d'Esquadra.
Police sources told Spanish media that protesters looted 14 shops in the city centre and damaged public property in the streets. Police said roughly a quarter of those detained were minors.
The call to protest spread on social media under the hashtag "Institut Indignats", the Catalan version of Lycées Indignés, a movement that has led student protests in France in recent weeks. Hundreds of young people dressed in black responded by gathering in Barcelona's Plaça de Catalunya.
About 600 youths took part in the demonstration, during which some shops were looted, rubbish containers were set alight and stones and bottles were thrown at security officers. The Catalan regional police and Spain's national police intervened to bring the unrest under control.
The interior ministry of Catalonia's autonomous government said the Barcelona protest mirrored demonstrations held the same day in several European cities, some of which also turned violent.
