PITCHED battles have erupted in Majorca’s capital as rival gangs clash and anti-tourist protests reach boiling point.
Visitors have been warned to avoid swathes of Palma where violence and crime is increasingly common, particularly under the cover of night.
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This week in Palma’s Son Gotleu district, police were forced to intervene in a 50-person fight reportedly involving Spaniards, Africans, and Moroccans on one side and Algerians on the other.
At least four people – reportedly young Algerians – were injured as a crowd of some 200 blocked a street with a burning container and threw objects at riot cops attempting to diffuse the situation.
Neighbours locked themselves in their homes amid the pitched battles, with one telling Balearic Islands newspaper Última Hora: “I’m very scared, I can’t even go outside.”
Another neighbour said the group which included the Spaniards “don’t like the Algerians and we don’t want them either”.
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The four young Algerian men reportedly told police that they were sitting on a bench when a large group of people armed with sticks and other blunt objects attacked them for no apparent reason.
They were rushed to hospital with injuries.
Neighbours reportedly said in reference to Algerian people who are living in Son Gotleu: “Either they leave, or we will throw them out.”
“They have recently arrived and are trying to kick us out of Son Gotleu,” Última Hora reports.
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More graffiti with the words “tourists go home” appeared in Majorca this week following a weekend of protests in the capital.
Some 10,000 locals took to the streets of Palma at the weekend and demanded curbs on mass tourism.
They marched through Weyler Square, where many holidaymakers were enjoying their evening meal, and chanted: “Let’s save Majorca. Foreigners out.”
Activists are now threatening to “collapse” the busy Palma airport, which hosted 31.1 million passengers last year, according to The Times.
The unusual tactic is expected to involve citizens causing a traffic gridlock outside the airport.
It comes after Brits appeared in footage to have been targeted near the airport by a local who chased them and slammed into their car.
Dramatic scenes caught on camera showed the Brits’ car being forced off a motorway and onto a hard shoulder, before the attacker made “several reckless manoeuvres”, according to cops.
The Brits reversed up an on-ramp in a desperate bid to escape, but were followed by the driver who rammed into them then took off.
This week, Majorca riot cops were caught on camera firing rubber bullets at German football “ultras” in Playa de Palma.
Tourists fled the scene in the Majorcan beach resort on Monday evening as cops attempted to break up a group of fifty-odd people.
Officers holding weapons were seen running after a group clad in yellow and black in front of horrified onlookers, with some cowering in side streets and running to other bars for safety.
As the campaign against tourists continues in Majorca, a list of some of the riskiest Palma neighbourhoods for tourists have been revealed.
The most dangerous, according to yes-mallorca-property.com, are Son Banya and La Soledat Nord.
Son Banya is said to be a hub for drug distribution and has a high crime rate, while La Soledat Nord is the site of many thefts.
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Son Gotleu, where four Algerians were allegedly attacked this week, is one of the island’s most dangerous neighbourhoods due to its high levels of violence and drug trafficking.
But theft and crime is also frequent in El Rafal Nou, El Vivero, and El Polígono de Levante, and “extreme caution” is advised in La Soledat Sud due to the frequency of crime and violence within it.
Anti-tourist measures sweeping hotspots
IT isn’t just Majorca where anti-tourist measures are being implemented across Europe.
Many top holiday destinations across the continent are taking action to prevent unwanted travellers from taking over their towns and cities.
Locals feel they can no longer live in the iconic destinations because they have become overcrowded, unsafe and uncomfortable.
In April, thousands of people took to the streets in Tenerife to demand restrictions on holidaymakers after telling Brits to “go home”.
The anti-tourist hordes filled a square in the capital brandishing banners including some that read “You enjoy we suffer” in English.
Protests also took place at the same time on other popular Canary islands including Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.
The marches were organised under the slogan “The Canary Islands have a limit.”
Hotel bosses in Benidorm have even admitted they are “very worried” by the anger growing amongst island residents but branded holiday homes in Spain a “virus”.
More recently, the Committee on Tourism, Trade, Employment, Culture and Sport reportedly approved an initiative to reintroduce a cap on cruise ships to Palma, Majorca’s capital.
Politicians are keen to implement a new set of rules on cruise ships in terms of taxation, the environment or the use of less polluting fuels to lower numbers coming into the Balearics.
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Source: Sun
