Spain Rocked by Strike Violence as Police Clash with Protesters and Businesses Are Targeted
Police made 39 arrests as protesters over soaring rents smashed storefronts and clashed with riot officers in Barcelona and Madrid, officials said.
- On Wednesday, November 11, 2026, tens of thousands took to the streets for Spain's first general strike in 14 years, protesting soaring rents and real estate prices across the nation.
- Anger reached a boiling point following the September 23 eviction of pensioner Maricarmen Abascal, 87, who faced a proposed 275 per cent rent increase after living in her Madrid flat for more than 70 years.
- Housing activists reported 400,000 marchers in Barcelona while officials estimated 120,000 in Madrid, though violence erupted as protesters smashed storefronts and police deployed pepper spray against crowds.
- Police made 39 arrests nationwide following clashes, while CCOO secretary-general Unai Sordo claimed the strike exceeded expectations. The business group CEOE countered, calling it a 'failure' with only 5 per cent participation.
- Housing activist Valeria Racu told reporters the strike targets 'rent seekers, against real estate speculators, against the large companies' profiting from housing, representing demands across a nation of 22 million registered workers.
12 Articles
12 Articles
THE first general strike in Spain in 14 years over the housing crisis and high prices was marked by violent clashes between protesters and police in Barcelona.
Owing to the increase in prices, Spain ' s general strike brought together more than 120,000 people in Madrid, followed by clashes with the police in Barcelona and the detention of 18 people.
Violent groups have erected barricades, set on fire containers and thrown objects and pyrotechnics at the Mossos d'Esquadra, who have responded with police charges Related: Burn Lego's shop on Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia for the launch of a Molotov cocktail during the general strike
The afternoon demonstration in the Catalan capital is prolonged by serious riots, attacks on the Mossos, fires and destructions in the shops.
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