Vox, the Spanish far-right party, has published a message this Sunday expressing "pride" that its party activists took part in a controversial march last Thursday to protest against the presence of immigrant youths in the coastal town of Masnou, north of Barcelona.
"Proud that our Catalan party members are supporting the residents and common sense," said the tweet, sent from an official Vox account."It is urgent for Spain to repatriate the MENAs, a focus for crime and rape, and break up the mafias that bring them". MENA is an acronym referring to "migrants who are unaccompanied minors."
Fifty residents, some identified as members of fascist groups, gathered at the gates of the Masnou town hall to protest an attempted sexual assault that took place the previous weekend. They marched to the hostel where the migrant youths are accommodated, and the mood of the protest became extremely volatile, to the point where six people were hurt: four minors, a police officer and the centre's security guard.
As a counter, anti-fascists in the town also called a rally against xenophobia. They announced a mobilization at the same place, an hour earlier, appealing to avoid the criminalization of a whole group, and raising their voices against racism. About 400 people took part.
The alleged sexual assault which prompted the marches took place in the early morning of Saturday, 29th June. The victim was sexually attacked in the street by a youth. Friends of the youth intervened when they saw what was happening and restrained the attacker. Later he was arrested by police.