> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://barna.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Collboni signals possible eviction of housing camp - URL: https://barna.news/collboni-signals-possible-eviction-of/ - Published: 2026-11-12T09:24:42.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-12T09:24:42.000Z - Description: Barcelona’s mayor says he wants Christmas in Plaça de Catalunya to be celebrated as normal, raising the prospect that the housing protest camp could be cleared. - Author: Barna.News News Desk - Tags: politics Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni has suggested that the housing protest camp in [Plaça de Catalunya](https://barna.news/protesters-force-zara-closure-in-placa/) could be evicted before Christmas. Clearing the camp would remove a focal point of the housing campaign from the central square, although Collboni did not announce a decision to evict it. Speaking to RAC1 on Thursday 12th November, the mayor said he wanted to restore normality to the square, which he described as belonging to everyone. His comments followed the housing general strike and disturbances in central Barcelona on Wednesday 11th November. > “Our goal is to celebrate Christmas as normal,” Collboni said. Raquel Gil, the deputy mayor responsible for economic promotion, had previously said the council was working on an alternative plan to prevent Plaça de Catalunya from being left without [Christmas](https://barna.news/barcelona-cancels-placa-catalunya/) lighting, according to betevé. Albert Batlle, the deputy mayor responsible for security, had also said the Guàrdia Urbana, Barcelona’s municipal police force, was prepared should an eviction become necessary. --- ## 52 arrests after housing strike demonstration In the RAC1 interview, Collboni put the number of people arrested after the demonstration at 52\. He said about ten shops had been vandalised and around 100 street bins burned. For residents and business owners in the city centre, the damage was concentrated around Plaça de Catalunya, Carrer de Pelai and sections of Passeig de Gràcia, according to RAC1’s reporting. Collboni said cleaning teams had worked through the night and that 80% of the affected area had been restored by early morning. The mayor also said the council would join criminal proceedings as a private prosecutor over damage to public property. He said 300 Guàrdia Urbana officers had been deployed, according to an account of his RAC1 interview reported by Europa Press. Barcelona’s fire service deployed about 100 personnel for approximately 40 call-outs, mainly involving burning bins and bicycles, [RAC1 reported](https://www.rac1.cat/societat/20261112/384911/botigues-destrossades-mobiliari-urba-cremat-50-detinguts-incidents-manifestacio-vaga-general-barcelona.html?ref=barna.news). ARA reported that the incidents began after the demonstration had been called off. Groups of masked people threw objects and pyrotechnic material at the Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police, on Gran Via, and damaged establishments around Passeig de Gràcia and Plaça de Catalunya, the outlet said. RAC1 reported two differing estimates for attendance at the demonstration: organisers put the number at 400,000, while the Guàrdia Urbana estimated 55,000. Enric Aragonès, spokesperson for the Sindicat de Llogateres tenants’ union, told RAC1 that too much attention was being paid to violence during the disturbances and too little to evictions: > “There are images that are less spectacular but more painful.” --- ## Mayor distinguishes latest disturbances from Blocus incidents Collboni said those responsible for the latest damage included people from outside Barcelona associated with anti-establishment and anarchist movements. He claimed they had come to provoke disturbances. The mayor contrasted them with young people involved in earlier incidents promoted by Blocus, a movement that used social media. He said those incidents had involved theft and looting, and claimed that the movement had been dismantled following the arrest of its main leaders. --- *Sources:* [*betevé*](https://beteve.cat/politica/collboni-obre-porta-desallotjar-acampada-placa-catalunya-abans-nadal-la-recuperarem/?ref=barna.news)*,* [*Ajuntament de Barcelona*](https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/premsa/2026/11/09/raquel-gil-explica-els-detalls-de-la-illuminacio-de-nadal-a-barcelona-2/?ref=barna.news)*,* [*rac1.cat*](https://www.rac1.cat/societat/20261112/384911/botigues-destrossades-mobiliari-urba-cremat-50-detinguts-incidents-manifestacio-vaga-general-barcelona.html?ref=barna.news)*,* [*Ara*](https://en.ara.cat/society/night-of-vandalism-and-disturbances-after-the-demonstration%5F1%5F5907811.html?ref=barna.news)*,* [*THE OBJECTIVE @TheObjective\_es*](https://theobjective.com/sociedad/suceso/2026-11-12/collboni-52-detenidos-altercados-barcelona/?ref=barna.news)*.* --- ### Related on Barna.News - [Updated: Catalan leader condemns violence after housing march](https://barna.news/catalan-leader-condemns-violence-after/) - [Passeig de Gràcia shops defy strike amid picket threats](https://barna.news/passeig-de-gracia-shops-defy-strike/) - [Barcelona City Centre Shops on Alert During General Strike](https://barna.news/barcelona-city-centre-shops-on-alert/) - [Updated: Mossos to deploy 9,000 officers for 11-N strike](https://barna.news/mossos-to-deploy-9-000-officers-for-11/)