BARCELONA: Climate activists splattered Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia basilica with red and black paint on Sunday to protest government handling of Spain’s devastating summer wildfires.
The Futuro Vegetal activist group claimed responsibility for the protest action against what they called inadequate climate change measures.
Police arrested two protesters during the incident as they shouted demands for “climate justice” according to social media footage.
The basilica designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi stands as one of Barcelona’s primary tourist attractions.
Futuro Vegetal condemned what they described as insufficient government action to address climate change and control recent wildfires.
Recent fires have killed four people and destroyed approximately 350,000 hectares of land in just the past two weeks according to European Forest Fire Information System data.
Spain’s government acknowledged the fires as “one of the biggest environmental catastrophes” in recent memory while recognizing their connection to climate change.
The emergency situation showed improvement over the weekend with civil protection services director Virginia Barcones stating the crisis was “coming to an end” on Saturday.
Futuro Vegetal maintains connections with similar international groups and has conducted numerous similar protests including a 2022 incident where members glued themselves to Goya painting frames at Madrid’s Prado Museum.
The group previously targeted a super yacht in Ibiza reportedly belonging to Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie and a mansion owned by former FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
Spanish police arrested twenty-two Futuro Vegetal members last year including participants in the Prado protest and the group’s three main leaders. – AFP