The legislative pact signed this Thursday between PSOE and Junts has revived the protests in the vicinity of the national headquarters of the socialists, on Madrid's Ferraz street. Thousands of people - 8,000, according to the Government Delegation - gathered in front of an important police checkpoint amid shouts of "Puigdemont to prison" and "Sánchez a traitor." The provisional balance of the Government Delegation is fifteen people arrested for public disorder.
This time, the protest began at the headquarters of the European parliament in Madrid. Revuelta, the youth front that is being sponsored by far-right leaders, called for the rally along with other entities such as Libertad sin Ira, Pie en Pared, S'ha Finish!, Neos and Voces Libres. Some 1,500 people gathered at the doors of the headquarters to protest against the eventual amnesty law, which is expected to be registered in the Congress of Deputies next week. “Europe, stop the amnesty,” was the slogan. In their interventions, the conveners asked the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to “watch over Spanish democracy.” After half an hour of protest, the protesters announced: “Another night, to Ferraz.” So it was.
Hundreds of people blocked the Paseo de la Castellana, where the headquarters of the European Parliament in Spain are located, and began the journey - about 50 minutes on foot - to the vicinity of Ferraz, at the same intersection with Marqueses de Urquijo Street, in which the protests had been called for the previous six nights. There, minutes before the arrival of the march, the leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, had appeared, who was received with shouts of "Long live Spain" and "President, president."
The ultra leader - who described the shooting of Alejo Vidal-Quadras as an "attack", despite the fact that the main hypothesis with which investigators are working is his relationship with the Iranian opposition - assured that the pact "is the greatest attack on the unity of Spain throughout the democratic period.” Some of the attendees shouted “Alejo we are all,” in reference to one of the founders of Vox. But they were not the only songs: between whistles and pots and pans, "The Bourbons to the sharks", "Felipe, traitor, defend your nation", "Peperos, traitors, you are Freemasons" were also heard. The classic “Spanish press, manipulative” was not missing. At one point, cries of “national uprising” could be heard, to the whistles of the rest of those gathered.
The tension grew after 9:30 p.m. After several objects were thrown at the Police Intervention Unit agents who were guarding the fence, the riot police began to put on their helmets. As already happened on Tuesday night, in which there were six detainees and about 40 injured, several small groups of masked young people took positions in the front of the concentration. As the atmosphere continued to escalate, many of the protesters left the protest, planning to return today.
At 10:00 p.m. the first firecrackers began to be heard and the shouts intensified against the National Police officers, who took positions to charge after several hooded youths threw flares and stones at the riot police. Police support vans arrived and were greeted to the sound of “that milkmaid, to the border.”
On Thursday night, the same pattern of action that police intelligence sources warned about was repeated. Neo-Nazi and extreme right groups that infiltrate demonstrations to “bust up” the protest with the sole purpose of violence for the sake of violence. The National Police has identified members of Bastión Frontal, Hace Nación or Skin Retiro, who are attending these protests. The Government Delegation warns that arrests will occur in the coming days.
