society
Rightwing groups try to disrupt protest
The so-called “national zone” in Barcelona stretches from Francesc Macià to the Sarrià neighbourhood. It is an area associated with Spanish nationalist sentiment (hence its name) and was the area chosen by leftwing organisations to carry out an anti-fascist demonstration yesterday. The march of around a thousand people went from Via Augusta to Diagonal, and was chosen because it was the route taken by a recent Spanish nationalist protest.
In response, a Spanish nationalist demonstration was planned to coincide with it, starting in Artós square. Yet, as this march approached Via Augusta, the Catalan police decided to temporarily stop it so as to prevent a clash with the anti-fascist protest. The police were soon called into action again when radical rightwing groups attempted to disrupt the anti-fascist march, which had to be protected by a cordon of police officers.