A group of violent far-left rioters in Spain attempted to crash a rally led by the leader of the anti-mass migration VOX party, Santiago Abascal, in the Galician town of A Coruña.
The group’s violent actions on Wednesday led to clashes between the rioters and Spanish National Police officers, resulting in the detention of at least two individuals and leaving roughly a dozen policemen injured. Hours later, the same leftist groups staged another protest against the police for containing their early riot attempts, leading to further overnight clashes with law enforcement.
Abascal, for his part, publicly accused the government of socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of “allowing” the violent protests against VOX.
The Vox leader visited A Coruña on Wednesday to hold what Spanish media describe as his first pre-electoral rally ahead of the upcoming November 29 snap elections. The event was held at the town’s central María Pita square next to A Coruña’s city hall.
The Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports that groups that self-proclaim themselves as “anti-fascists” and promoted by local Galician leftist youth organizations such as Galiza Nova of the socialist Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) preemptively organized in the days leading to Abascal’s arrival stage a protest right next to the VOX rally. The groups accused the politician of espousing “racist and xenophobic” content in his discourse and expressing their rejection to the VOX party’s policies.
About 5,000 individuals reportedly participated in the anti-VOX gathering.
Police officers and anti-riot agents formed a barricade between the VOX rally and the far-left protesters, noting that despite the screams and chants espoused by the belligerent leftists, Abascal’s rally concluded without any major incident.
El Mundo, and local outlets detailed that Abascal rejected the “coercion by Pedro Sánchez’s accomplices and associates,” emphatically affirming that such violent acts will not stop his or his party’s actions. During his speech, Abascal delivered a new fierce round of criticism against the unpopular socialist Prime Minister, accusing Sánchez of “uniting” all the extremists in Spain, including what he described as the “Islamo-left,” separatists, and terrorists, while also uniting the invaders of Ceuta that are assaulting the local population.
The VOX leader called upon his followers to mobilize en masse for the November 29 snap election, stressing that “no cheating or violence” will be able to stop their votes on that day.
Although the speech itself concluded with no incidents, Spanish outlets explained that the already tense situation rapidly escalated as soon as Abascal left the premises, with some of the protesters — now turned rioters — attempting to breach the security perimeter, throwing, bottles, stones, eggs, and even chairs from nearby terraces against the law enforcement officials. The anti-riot agents responded to the violence to contain their violent advance.
Several Spanish outlets published footage of the violent clashes.
The wave of leftist violence in A Coruña continued long after Abascal’s afternoon rally was over, and extended into the evening. Local A Coruña outlets reported that the same leftist organizations that called upon to protest against the VOX event called for an impromptu night protest against the actions of the police and anti-riot officials — setting fire to at least 30 garbage containers across the city.
Much like earlier that day, law enforcement agents responded to the violence, leading to additional clashes. Firemen were reportedly able to extinguish all the fires throughout the early morning hours of Thursday.
Speaking with the broadcaster Cuatro on Wednesday night, Abascal accused the government of Pedro Sánchez of “deliberately allowing” violent incidents against Vox — availing himself of the opportunity to warn of the possibility that the violence may spread to other areas across Spain throughout the snap election cycle.
The VOX party leader pointed out that the protest against his rally was located just sixty meters away from the A Coruña town hall — something that he found “striking,” and asserted, “These are decisions made by the administration. No one would imagine that a counter-demonstration would be organized at a PSOE [Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party] event.” Inés Rey, the current Mayor of A Coruña, is a member of the PSOE.
“This has happened because the government delegation wants it to happen. It’s going to be a campaign of violence in which the government will mobilize its militias,” Abascal affirmed to Cuatro. “The truth is that everything I predicted is coming true, point by point. This isn’t new, but I get the feeling that this campaign will be constantly violent,” he continued.
Referring to the protests against VOX during his rally, Abascal described its participates as groups that call themselves “anti-fascists, mixed with Maghreb groups.”
“These protests bring these people together. I would go so far as to call them Pedro Sánchez’s militias, just as those who have entered Ceuta illegally are also part of them. We are facing a very troubling situation in Europe,” he emphasized.
Abascal reiterated his accusations against the Spanish government in a separate Thursday morning interview with Spain’s Telecinco. The VOX party leader said that he has unfortunately gotten used to such violent situations, which have now become a recurring incident in VOX events “where government officials allow counter-protests to take place just a few meters away from where we’re holding an event.”
Such alleged actions, Abascal argued, end up instilling fear among participants over the potential danger. He nevertheless stressed that the people who try to stop VOX events end are generally violent individuals who end up attacking the police themselves. Abascal saluted Spanish law enforcement for protecting the exercise of their freedom before once again condemning the Spanish government authorities for “wanting for this to happen.” According to Abascal, the goal of linking VOX discourse to violence is part of a purported “smokescreen” campaign from the government to distract attention from what is actually happening in Spain.
The Spanish leftists’ attempts to violently crash the Wednesday VOX rally in A Coruña are not a unique incident isolated to Spain or the VOX party, but rather, a practice exhibited by other far-left groups across Europe.
In France, a country that just experienced a dramatic wave of far-left induced chaos and violence in recent days, intelligence agencies have reportedly expressed concerns on the possibility of violent clashes this upcoming weekend during the National Rally convention in Orléans.
Le Journal du Dimanche reported on Thursday morning that French intelligence agencies “advises’ National Rally’s leader Marine Le Pen to cancel the upcoming event citing credible threats coming from far-left groups seeking to disrupt the convention. Le Pen, however, has reportedly denied such statements, affirming that she has received assurances from local authorities that the convention will proceed and that security will be guaranteed throughout the event.
Per the outlet, participants have nevertheless been instructed to not stay in Orléans overnight, and leave the city somewhere between Saturday evening and Sunday morning. The most prominent figures that will participate at the event were reportedly instructed by the police to inform of their place of residence so that the adequate security measures can be put in place beforehand.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated on Wednesday that “several dozen thousands” of counter-protesters against National Rally are expected throughout the weekend. According to Nuñez, an “extremely substantial” security deployment has been prepared in advance.
