Barcelona workers protested on Tuesday during Pope Leo XIV’s visit, with municipal and education staff saying public services are under strain and funding is being directed elsewhere. The march began at Plaça d’Espanya and went through the city centre, blocking Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes before continuing along Passeig de Sant Joan and Passeig de Lluís Companys to the Parliament of Catalonia.

Organisers said around 45,000 people took part, while the Guàrdia Urbana put the figure at 6,500. The demonstration also targeted Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni, Education Minister Esther Niubó and Catalan President Salvador Illa, and its main slogan was, “We ask for facts, not miracles.”

Representatives from CGT, Intersindical, Àbacos, USTEC-STES, COS, CNT and the Student Union joined the protest. Educators called for the resignation of Education Minister Esther Niubó, while municipal workers demanded the same for Security Councillor Albert Batlle.

Iolanda Segura of USTEC-STES, Marc Martorell of La Intersindical and Cati Morros of COS told reporters that there is “no money for public education, but millions are allocated for the Pope’s arrival”. Lúa Millet, spokesperson for the Student Union, said it was a “disgrace” that teachers’ demands were being ignored while the city was paralysed.

Isarn Paredes, CGT’s education spokesperson, criticised the level of security around Leo XIV’s visit and said the union defends a 100% public education model in Catalan. Miquel Rubio, spokesperson for La Intersindical, said public services such as libraries, nurseries, OACs, feminism services and social services are deteriorating, and called for more investment in quality services and an end to outsourcing.

Israel Ureñas, a CGT spokesperson and social services worker, said cuts have led to a “collapse” in services, adding that emergency accommodation is no longer available for families facing eviction and that emergency aid can now take 30 days instead of three. Sònia Fernández, a delegate for the Education Union and nursery school director, said minimum services in nursery schools were set at 50%, which she said breaches the right to strike. For more local coverage, see news.