MADRID (AFP).- A series of protests in central Barcelona, Spain, left a total of 128 people detained, including 73 minors, on Saturday night for various "acts of vandalism," "damage to public property" or "looting," as announced by the Catalan police this Sunday. In videos shared by users on social media, groups of young people, many of them dressed in black, could be seen running through the streets of Barcelona and attacking shops after gathering in a large square in the city center, as part of an undeclared demonstration against the authorities that had been called on social media. The protests began at around five in the afternoon this Saturday with the participation of dozens of hooded youths. The demonstrators, who threw stones, formed a barrier with chairs, tables and other street furniture in front of a shopping center in Plaça de Catalunya and subsequently set it on fire. Protests in Catalonia on Saturday, October 24The riots spread from Plaça de Catalunya to the surrounding areas and included damage to streets, bus stops and even bicycles on the traditional Passeig de Gràcia. Late into the night, the state railway company Renfe had to close the Plaça de Catalunya station, where commuter trains were not stopping, and the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat trains were also not stopping at Plaça de Catalunya. The looting extended even to Rambla de Catalunya, where some mobile phone and electronics shops and fashion and jewelry stores reported thefts. Restaurants were also vandalized. The demonstrators set fire to the area around Plaça de Catalunya Europa Press News - Europa PressWith the arrival of the police, several groups dispersed and clashes with the authorities continued in the vicinity of Plaça de Catalunya, which was sealed off by the Mossos d'Esquadra (who serve as the local autonomous police). "We are preparing the reports to send them, on the one hand, to the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office and, on the other hand, to the corresponding court," explained Sílvia Catà, the head of the Mossos d'Esquadra, to the local outlet 3CatInfo. Catà specified that only two of those detained had criminal records. Looting at a commercial establishment in BarcelonaAlso, 14 Mossos officers and one Urban Guard officer were injured during the riots. The police official described the events as "gratuitous violence." According to Catà, the police are analyzing the profiles of those detained, whom she described as "completely disorganized people" summoned on social media, specifically through the TikTok platform. In addition to those detained, another 450 people were identified and 68 administrative reports were opened for the seizure of bladed weapons, tear gas sprays, balaclavas, pyrotechnics and stones, among other tools used during the protest. According to official information released by the local media, 23 shops were vandalized and the Fire Department responded to 33 fires. The mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, warned that they will go after those "guilty and responsible for these events," both the adults and the "legal guardians of the minors" who participated. The City Council, he said, "will take legal action to defend the public property that has been vandalized." The riots, from aboveChaos in EuropeThese riots occurred amid another Saturday of protests in France and with echoes in Italy, Albania and Portugal. In Paris, hundreds of thousands of French people once again took to the streets to protest against the high cost of living, a week after the riots of October 17. Under the watch of a large security operation, the day passed much more calmly, despite some isolated clashes. For this new day of protests, 70,000 police officers and gendarmes were mobilized, supported by the elite units of the GIGN, the BRI and the RAID, while military personnel from Operation Sentinelle protected certain public buildings. In Milan, meanwhile, at least ten thousand demonstrators gathered in Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, in front of the Politecnico di Milano. During the protest, chants were raised against Giorgia Meloni's government, and a sign of the right-wing League party was torn down and set on fire. Law enforcement carried out checks on several young people in the central square Largo Cairoli and at the Centrale and Cadorna train stations, many of whom were questioned in police vehicles. Demonstrators gathered in central Milan in a protest over the rising cost of livingIpa - IPA via ZUMA Press DPAFollowing the example of their Spanish neighbors, a demonstration took place in Lisbon, where those gathered marched to demand affordable housing. The demonstrators also criticized recent measures announced by the government of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, which include relaxing the cap on annual rent increases and making it easier to evict tenants who do not pay rent. Meanwhile, the Albanian capital, Tirana, was the scene of a major protest against corruption and study conditions, in which demonstrators threw pyrotechnic mortars at the police, who responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons. A cloud of gas blanketed Tirana's Skanderbeg Square at nightfall, while hundreds of police munition casings and cobblestones covered the main avenue leading to the government headquarters.