Mallorca Blocus protest fails to show; six minors fined
Six minors are fined in Palma, Mallorca, on Friday, 30 October, as police search groups of young people ahead of a Blocus Mallorca protest that never takes place. Officers say the minors allegedly had corrosive material, aluminium foil or an imitation weapon. The march, promoted on Instagram, was due to leave Plaza de España at 19.30.
Instead, the square holds onlookers, journalists, police and a meeting of the Acampada per l'Habitatge group. Officers take the minors to National Police headquarters in Palma before handing them over to their parents. Police say they have found no organised Blocus groups in the city.
Some shops in central Palma close that afternoon on the advice of trade associations. Several near Plaza de España put wooden boards over their windows.
After the planned start time, people approach the Acampada meeting and try to provoke those taking part. The group responds with chants and thrown objects, and officers separate the two sides. The day before, the Blocus Mallorca Instagram account had threatened to destroy the group’s tents if any of its own demonstrators were attacked.
National Police plan preventive patrols in Palma over the weekend, which includes Halloween on Saturday, but say they will not bring in extra reinforcements. Balearic government spokesman Antoni Costa had called for more officers, saying the gathering announced online did not appear peaceful.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com