The Mossos d'Esquadra have evicted this Monday morning the Ateneu Popular de Vallcarca, located at number 91 of Vallcarca avenue, in the Barcelona neighborhood of Vallcarca. The operation started around 10:00 a.m. with the road closure and ended around 11:00 a.m., when the premises were closed with a padlock.
The operation unfolded without the agents having to forcibly remove the occupants of the property, since they voluntarily abandoned the space before the police arrived. Even so, during the intervention, about fifty people gathered in front of the building to protest against the eviction.
Protest in front of the building
The police presence became visible from early morning at this point of Vallcarca avenue, one of the main arteries of the neighborhood. The street closure allowed the perimeter to be secured while the operation inside was being completed and the subsequent closing of access to the premises.
About fifty activists gathered in front of the estate to show their rejection of the departure of the Ateneu Popular from this space. The concentration followed the development of the operation until its completion, without any other incident linked to the protest having come to light.
More than two decades of activity in the neighborhood
The evicted entity had accumulated more than 20 years of activity in Vallcarca. The property at Vallcarca avenue, 91, was also the fourth space occupied by the organization throughout its trajectory in the neighborhood.
With the closing of the premises around 11:00 hours, the operation was concluded and the space ceased to be accessible. The eviction puts an end, at least for now, to the stage of the Ateneu Popular in this specific point of Vallcarca.