WATCH: Hooded Demonstrators Looting Shops, Setting Fires In Barcelona; 100 Arrested in Spain Protests

Dramatic videos from Barcelona, Spain, show hooded demonstrators smashing shop windows, looting stores and setting fires during an anti-establishment rally, prompting authorities to arrest 100 people, according to Reuters.

The unrest broke out on Saturday, October 24, around the central Plaza de Catalunya, an area popular with tourists and weekend shoppers. Footage circulating on social media showed people dressed in black kicking in shop windows and carrying away merchandise, while fires burned in the streets

Other videos showed people trapped inside shops, including the department store El Corte Inglés, after security shutters were lowered to prevent looting. Some online viewers appeared to encourage the acts of vandalism, Reuters reported.

Catalonia’s regional interior minister, Núria Parlon, said 100 people had been arrested following the unrest, with minors accounting for around 25 per cent of those detained. More than 30 fires were reported, while 14 stores were vandalised or looted.

The demonstration had been promoted through social media under the slogan “against the system” and the name “Institut Indignats”. The name draws on “Lyceés Indignés”, a movement associated with student protests in France in recent weeks.

Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni condemned the vandalism and warned that those responsible would face legal consequences. He also said guardians of minors involved in the unrest could face legal repercussions.

The latest incident comes amid wider social tensions in Spain, where protests over housing affordability have drawn large crowds in recent weeks. Demonstrations in Madrid and other cities have focused on rising rents, housing shortages and eviction concerns.

However, authorities and reports have described the October 24 gathering as an anti-establishment rally; the available reporting does not establish that the latest looting and fires were directly linked to the separate housing protests.

The videos have drawn attention to the scale of the disorder in central Barcelona, as police and local authorities respond to the arrests and damage to businesses.