Former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau has stated three times during a televised debate on Tuesday 6 October that Carles Puigdemont, president-in-exile and leader of Junts per Catalunya, "will have problems walking through Catalonia". The comments came during her appearance on the La 2 Cat programme Cafè d'Idees, where she linked public backlash to Junts' parliamentary decision to reject two housing decrees.
Colau argued that Junts had left "millions of people abandoned, threatened with eviction, with rental contracts ending and not being renewed". She said citizens would hold Puigdemont accountable for the party’s vote against the decrees, which aimed to extend rental protections and curb housing speculation.
“Carles Puigdemont will have problems walking through Catalonia”
The remarks have prompted a formal complaint to the Council of Audiovisual of Catalonia (CAC) by lawyer Quim Gonter. He alleges that Colau’s statements amount to incitement or at least the apologia of violence or intimidation against Puigdemont. The complaint cites CAC regulations that prohibit content encouraging antisocial behaviour, aggression, or abuse, particularly on public broadcasting platforms.
Gonter told El Món that Colau’s words constituted an "indirect call to scorn and punish Puigdemont through undemocratic means" over a parliamentary vote. He questioned what the reaction would be if such statements were directed at other political figures or groups.
Junts leaders condemn Colau’s remarks
Leaders from Junts per Catalunya have expressed outrage. Congress deputy Josep Maria Cruset responded that "the problems we have walking in Barcelona are due to the city you left behind", referencing security concerns. Aleix Clarió, an advisor to Puigdemont, warned that the real danger to the exiled leader comes from "the number of extremists who may want to harm him, encouraged by figures like you who normalise violence".
Senator Eduard Pujol accused Colau of being the "world champion in evictions", acting with "audacity, lying and threats". Jordi Martí Galbis, Junts’ lead candidate for Barcelona, accused her of benefiting from state mechanisms to defame former mayor Xavier Trias and now threatening Puigdemont, calling her politics "populist, demagogic and soulless".
Context: Junts blocks housing decrees
The controversy follows Junts’ decision to vote against two housing decrees in the Spanish Congress on Friday 2 October. One decree aimed to limit speculative investment in housing, while the other provided for automatic renewal of rental contracts to protect vulnerable tenants. The Spanish government, a coalition of PSOE and Sumar, had negotiated the measures with pro-independence and left-wing groups but refused to withdraw them despite Junts’ opposition.
According to government sources, the decrees were designed to "halt speculation, limit vulture funds, facilitate access to first homes, promote affordable rentals, and prevent evictions". Housing activists protested outside Congress during the vote, with some throwing papers and shouting "Vulture funds govern Congress".
More Barcelona coverage on Barna.News: Colau warns Puigdemont on housing decree fallout and Colau sets condition for possible 2027 Congress bid.
Reported by elmon.cat, t.co, elnacional.cat, en.ara.cat, tweetlook.com, leuropeu.cat, El Món, elliberal.cat.
