Ignacio Garriga, Secretary General of VOX, met with the Passeig de Gràcia Association on Wednesday 4th November to discuss security concerns affecting Barcelona’s residents and businesses. Following the meeting, Garriga publicly blamed the Socialist Party (PSOE) for the city’s deteriorating security, citing the violent disturbances of Saturday 24th October. On that night, around 20 TikTok accounts linked to the anonymous Blocus platform promoted gatherings across Spain, including in Barcelona’s Plaça Catalunya. According to analysis by The Conversation, these accounts used AI-generated imagery and slogans echoing far-right anti-immigration movements, though no evidence ties the event to any established political or social cause. The gathering quickly turned violent, with masked youths smashing shop windows and attacking police. Police reported 130 arrests, of which 76 were under 18, and 14 officers injured. The Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police, confirmed that the event was coordinated through two Telegram groups named Blocus Barcelona, which gathered over 2,000 users before being shut down. The groups incited crimes including jewellery store raids, arson of street containers, and assaults on police patrols.

Government and Police Respond to Digital Mobilisation

Catalan Interior Minister Núria Parlon told the Parlament’s Interior Commission that the incident represented a "totally anomalous" surge in youth violence, driven by digital platforms. The Mossos had assigned an intermediate risk level to the event and deployed 400 officers, but admitted they underestimated the aggressiveness of the participants. Salvador Illa, President of the Generalitat, vowed to identify those behind the riots, stating: "We will find out who organised this, and everyone involved will be held accountable." Police are investigating whether the mobilisation involved foreign interference and are collaborating with European law enforcement to monitor new calls for unrest. Calls linked to the Blocus network have since surfaced for Saturday 31st October in multiple European cities, including Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, and Amsterdam. Some promote peaceful protest, while others reference The Purge, a horror film in which crime is legal for one night.

We need massive support to recover the tranquility that the PSOE has taken from us.

Garriga reiterated this stance on social media, claiming that "hundreds of young people of foreign origin sowed chaos" and calling for a political response to what VOX describes as a crisis of governance. The party’s parliamentary spokesperson, Joan Garriga, has announced plans to request parliamentary data on the nationalities of those arrested.

Political Reactions and Ongoing Risks

Opposition parties have questioned the Mossos’ preparedness. Junts demanded Parlon’s resignation, while Esquerra Republicana and the PP questioned operational planning. Los Comuns called for accountability from social media platforms that enabled the coordination. Despite the deletion of the original TikTok accounts, new profiles are reusing the Blocus label. Spanish fact-checking organisation Maldita has identified Halloween-related calls in nine European countries, raising concerns about coordinated digital disruption targeting urban centres.

Sources: El Catalán, theconversation.com, El Mundo, barcelonapress.com.