Barcelona ramps up anti-tourist protests

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Barcelona on Saturday, to highlight the negative effects of over-tourism on local housing and quality of life. Crowds held banners bearing slogans such as ‘Barcelona is not for sale’ and ‘Neighbors in danger of extinction,’ as they marched through the streets. Tourists in popular bars and restaurants looked on anxiously as the crowds made their way through, chanting and fixing tape and stickers to local buildings, with some establishments even having paint thrown at them. The growing influx of tourists to the area, thought to be around 32 million per year, was making it ‘impossible for us to live in our city,’ said one protest organizer, while another called for more pressure to be put on local authorities ‘if we want them to answer with real political measures.’