Barcelona's city council to evict street merchants from La Rambla 

Street merchants on Barcelona's iconic La Rambla boulevard will finally be evicted, after weeks of juridical uncertainty. 

Earlier in July, a judge temporarily suspended the closure of the shops to further examine the case. 

But recent rulings from up to five different courts have backed the city council's decision.  

Manuel Mallo, director of Barcelona's city council juridic services, who announced the final ruling to the press on Thursday, explained that it has been "a complex juridical process" that has lasted a couple years.

"But the resolution is favorable to the city council, so we will have to execute the decision," he added. 

Barcelona's municipal authorities have informed merchants that they have to hand in the keys on Thursday, but none of the 11 'ocellaires' have done so yet.  

In the following days, the city council will request legal authorization for a forced execution to close the street shops.  

The city council wants to evict the merchants as part of a reform of La Rambla that began last month and aims to change the perception that the boulevard is strictly for tourists. 

Known in Catalan as 'ocellaires', or 'old bird sellers', the merchants on La Rambla used to sell birds and other animals. 

In 2009 they stopped selling birds and now sell souvenirs, ice cream, tickets and sweets.