A wave of youth-led protests under the Blocus movement, organized via TikTok, has sparked violence and police crackdowns across at least nine European countries, with new demonstrations planned for Halloween.

In Spain, the movement first gained traction on October 24 in Barcelona, where protests devolved into riots. Authorities reported 128 arrests, 72 of them minors, after groups vandalized 23 businesses and set 33 fires . The Fiscalía has since requested the internment of six minors and prohibited over 20 others from attending protests . Barcelona’s mayor, Jaume Collboni, confirmed police had prior knowledge of the calls but described the scale of destruction as an unprecedented phenomenon .

The Blocus movement, inspired by French student protests over education funding, has no clear leadership or manifesto. Its anonymous accounts on TikTok, WhatsApp, and Telegram have issued conflicting calls for gatherings, often urging participants to wear black and cover their faces . In Barcelona, a Telegram group with over 1,000 members explicitly discussed using Molotov cocktails, extinguishers, and barricades to “looting the rich” and target luxury stores like Rolex and Apple .

Authorities in Germany are also bracing for unrest. Police unions warned of potential violence from “left-wing extremists and migrant groups” during planned Halloween protests, with preparations underway in 23 cities under the banner of Gen Z regelt . Spanish officials, including Minister Elma Saiz, suggested the far right could benefit from the chaos, while Barcelona’s regional government pledged zero tolerance for further disruptions .

New calls for protests on October 31 have spread to at least 46 cities in Spain, France, Austria, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Portugal, with some explicitly advocating for looting . Barcelona’s city council has allocated €500,000 in emergency aid for affected businesses and vowed to pursue compensation for €36,000 in damages to public property .