Today teachers and students went on strike protesting the new education-law that the spanish right-wing government is trying to impose.
The spanish labour-unions is saying that the law will result in major cutdowmns and privatisation of the spanish educational sector.
To protest against the so called "Quality law" spanish labour unions called for a general strike in the educational-sector today.

In Barcelona a major demonstration was held gathering unions, student-groups and political parties.
Between 10000 and 15000 people participated in the demonstration.

Shortly after the demonstration reached its ending point at Plaza del Paláu it is attacked by riot police for reasons unknown to me at the present moment.
Both protesters and others that I have talked to claim that the demonstration was attacked without any provocations from protesters.
Others say it was attacked after a handfull of people decided to throw bottles at a policevan.
When things get out of hand I am standing on Pg. Isabell - about 30 meters from where the riots start.
Without any warning the crowd starts running in panic.
10 seconds before the attack people were singing, a gruop of drummers were playing and it all seemed very peacefull.
I did not see one single person masked. The first masked person I see is after 10 minutes of street-battles, but very few people in the riots were wearing masks.

At about 1400 hours - as a direct consecuense of the police attack - riots break out at Plaza del Paláu and on Pg Isabell leading back to Plaza Antoni López and Via Leitana.
Well over 500 people - maybe as much as 1000 - are involved in confrontations with police during the first 20 minutes of the riot.
People from the CNT - the anarchist union - are trying to calm people dowm, but few seem to listen. Most protesters has left - or are leaving at this point, but hundreds of students stay to confront the police. For several hours the riots go on in a geografically quite small area along Pg Isabell, Via Laitana and small sidestreets leading north towards the gothic part of the city.

Police act extremly irationall during the whole riot - driving around aimelessly in policevans, getting out and hiding behind there shields. At some streets where the number of protesters is not as great they chase them for a couple of minutes and then get back in their vans.

On some streets barricades are built and set on fire.
Rocks ripped up from the pavement and glass-bottles are thrown at the police.
No damage at all is beeing comitted against shops or private property. Violence seem to be focused on police only.

After a hour of riots, things seem to be calming down.
However; police continue to chase groups of protesters who seem to be standing around and doing nothing.
The police is clearlly provocing even more riots along Pg. Colom and in parks down by the sea.
Rubber-bullets are fired directly into crouds of angry students - one bullet bouncing of the pavement only a couple of centimeters from my leg.

During this time I see almost no arrests, maybe 3 or 4 persons.
Other protesters claim that people arrested are beeing realeased almost imidiatly.
I witness - while running - several clear cases of policebrutality, where people are being beaten several policeofficers while lying on the ground.

After a few hours the numbers of protesters are smaller.
The people who keep on fighting are mostly young people. I saw many boys that couldn't have been more than 12 years old. One girl probably not even 10!

As a witness I am supprised by the way the police was acting during the whole riot. Most confrontaitions would have been avoided - whithout any doubt - if the police would have chosen a different tactic than constantly attacking groups of passive protesters. As it seemed to me - it was obvious that the police on several occations were provocing acts of violence.

Number of arrests is unknown at the time. Number of wounded aswell.