24 arrested and seven police officers injured at anti-amnesty riots in Madrid

Twenty-four people were arrested on Thursday night during the latest anti-amnesty riots outside Socialist party headquarters in Madrid, according to sources from Spain's interior ministry. 

Seven police officers were injured in the disturbances on a day when the Socialists agreed a deal with Catalan pro-independence party Junts for the reelection of Pedro Sánchez as Prime Minister, including an amnesty for those involved in the independence push over the last decade. 

Protesters threw firecrackers, flares, glass bottles and other blunt objects at police, who responded with baton charges to disperse the crowd. 

Around 8,000 people attended the rally, with signs glorifying former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco visible, the Falangist anthem 'Cara al sol' heard on several occasions, as well as the chant: 'Christian Spain, not Muslim.' 

The leader of Spain's conservative People's Party posted on X (formerly Twitter) to ask for a "firm but calm" response, while the leader of far-right Vox attended the demonstration. 

The protest was directed in particular against the acting Spanish PM Sánchez, but also against former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, and, for the second consecutive night, against the press, with slogans such as 'Spanish press, manipulators.' 

The rally was called by Vox and other conservative and far-right groups. 

A protest outside the European Parliament's offices in Madrid was attended by around 1,500 on Thursday evening, under the banner: 'Europe! Stop the amnesty.'