Nine minors arrested in Palma after a sparse Blocus Mallorca protest call

A call with little turnout

The Blocus Mallorca call, spread through social media by an anonymous Instagram profile, was set for 19:30 at Plaza de España in Palma on Friday, 30 October. Authorities and shopkeepers had feared a repeat of disturbances seen in other European cities, and police prepared a large preventive deployment. The gathering never took shape: roughly twenty young people moved between the square, Plaça de l'Olivar and Carrer de Sant Miquel without forming a demonstration. Police said they had not detected any organised Blocus groups in Palma that evening, and officers, journalists and onlookers outnumbered the young people at the square.

Arrests and seized items

The police tally reported on Saturday morning showed nine minors arrested, 40 administrative records drawn up and 200 people identified, most of them very young. A teenager was also arrested in Ibiza, where three records were drawn up. Officers located weapons or dangerous items, including corrosive liquid, on 14 people, proposed administrative penalties for 21 people over face coverings, and found small amounts of drugs in five cases. Earlier counts from Friday were lower, including six minors found carrying corrosive liquid, aluminium foil and a simulated weapon, and a separate detention; the later tally supersedes them. Detained minors were taken to police headquarters in Palma and handed over to their parents.

Weapons or dangerous items14

Face coverings and similar items21

Drugs5

Weapons or dangerous items

14 records

Face coverings and similar items

21 records

Drugs

5 records

Data from the article text

Clashes around the encampment

Plaza de España hosts the Acampada per l'Habitatge, a housing protest camp that has stood there for about a month against real estate speculation. The day before the call, the Blocus profile had posted a threatening message aimed at the encampment. From about 20:00, hundreds of young people gathered around the square, half an hour after the scheduled start, and a group of around twenty men identified by encampment activists as far-right approached the tents. Chants and objects were thrown from both sides, and police in riot gear separated the groups using vehicles as barriers. A group of young people was chased and threatened by around ten adults during a run through the streets, and a boy under 14 was arrested after throwing an object at police and resisting.

Shops and the Saturday call

Shops around Plaza de España closed early or protected their windows with wooden panels, following recommendations from business federations. Police Nacional, coordinated with the Policía Local de Palma, will keep a deployment in place over the weekend. The anonymous Blocus profile has again called a gathering for Saturday, 31 October, at 19:30 in the same square, and thousands of young people are expected in the city centre for Halloween. Police sources said the weekend operation would not be special and would have no extraordinary reinforcements.