A FRENCH word spread through anonymous TikTok accounts has emerged as the trigger for last weekend’s riots in central Barcelona.
‘Blocus’, meaning ‘blockade’, was the hashtag used to mobilise the young people who looted around 30 shops and started 33 fires around Plaça de Catalunya on Saturday.
The Mossos d’Esquadra are now investigating who is behind the accounts. Some of the online groups are already organising a much bigger gathering for this Saturday, October 31.
The term has been used in youth protests against the education system in France, several of which also ended in violence.
In Barcelona, it was the banner for what was billed as a protest about the poor state of state schools. In reality, it was used to encourage looting.
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Similar calls have appeared in Italy, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, though not under the same name.
Liliana Arroyo, a researcher at the Esade business school, said it was partly a copy of what was happening in France. “But when you look, it doesn’t have a concrete meaning. It’s just a symbol,” she said.
She compared it to the Japanese manga One Piece, which became a symbol of several youth protest movements in Asia in 2025.
How did protestors organise?
The posters circulated through videos on several anonymous TikTok accounts, many of which have since been deactivated. They read: “Blocus, October 24. Demonstration for the quality of secondary schools.”
Each poster carried a QR code linking to a WhatsApp community, while comments pointed users to smaller Telegram groups where the plans took shape. Members were given instructions on what to wear, where to meet and which routes to take.
Technology analyst Marcelino Madrigal, who followed the movement online, believes whoever created it has “a political or geopolitical interest”. In Italy, where similar protests have taken place, intelligence services are investigating whether foreign actors played a part.
How did things get out of hand?
Catalan Interior Minister Nuria Parlon has denied that the riots grew out of any protest or social cause.
Around 500 people went straight to looting shops, without gathering for a demonstration first.
Police were caught off guard. Their analysis before Saturday had predicted a protest with minor incidents, seen as a kind of rehearsal for a bigger march on October 31.
The Mossos have now arrested 130 people, 76 of them minors.
Of those arrested, 25 have previous records for theft, robbery or assault, but only two have previous records for public disorder.
Officers are now combing through footage to identify those responsible for the looting.
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