Madrid will have a large police presence on the streets this Friday and Saturday, after calls on social media for vandalism over Halloween. According to 20minutos Madrid, the Ayuntamiento de Madrid (Madrid City Council) is concentrating its efforts around the Puerta del Sol and Gran Vía, especially on shops in the area.
What happened
On Thursday, the vicealcaldesa (deputy mayor) Inma Sanz gave a press conference after the weekly Junta de Gobierno (the city’s governing board meeting). Sanz is also the council’s delegada de Emergencias y Seguridad (head of emergencies and security). She said the council would commit “all its officers and everything within its power” to prevent disturbances in the capital over Halloween.
The council wants to avoid scenes like the recent disturbances in Barcelona and Bilbao. 20minutos Madrid reports that a group called Blocus was behind that unrest and used social media to call for vandalism in Barcelona. Reports are circulating that the protest has been called off. Even so, the Policía Nacional (Spain’s national police force) and the Policía Municipal (the city police) will continue working together.
“The operations will be large and we still have to finalise them with the Delegación, but there will be a very heavy presence of police officers on the street,” Sanz said. The Delegación del Gobierno is the central government’s office in the region. Sanz pointed out that public order and citizen security are the responsibility of the Delegación del Gobierno and the Policía Nacional. She added that municipal officers would be “at their side to accompany, help and reinforce them”.
The council has also been in contact with shopkeepers in the almendra central, the area inside the M-30 ring road that forms the city centre, and particularly with those around Sol and Gran Vía. Sanz said traders are “understandably worried” about the calls being made on social media. She noted that a similar call for vandalism in Madrid had gone out for last Saturday, but nothing happened.
According to Sanz, the council is following these groups on social media “in great detail”. She said there is “permanent coordination” between the council’s information and analysis services and those of the Policía Nacional. “Our central security units are going to be fully deployed, above all in the city centre,” she said.
What it means for you
The council’s separate operation for the puente de Todos los Santos (the All Saints’ Day long weekend) involves a total of 1,700 municipal police officers. According to 20minutos Madrid, they are split as follows:
- Cemeteries: 920 officers will patrol the city’s cemeteries, which many families visit over All Saints’ weekend.
- Nightlife and parties: 350 officers will inspect leisure venues and the parties planned for Halloween.
- EMT buses: 430 officers will carry out checks on buses run by the EMT (Empresa Municipal de Transportes, the city bus company). The aim is to stop people throwing eggs and other objects, which puts traffic and passengers at risk.
Separately, the Jefatura Superior de Policía (the Policía Nacional’s regional headquarters) has announced a surveillance operation with 80 officers to prevent disturbances.
If you live, work or plan to go out in the centre on Friday 30 or Saturday 31 October, expect a much heavier police presence than usual, especially around the Puerta del Sol and Gran Vía. Expect a visible police presence too if you are travelling by EMT bus, visiting a cemetery or going to a Halloween party or a bar or club in the city. Shop owners and staff in the centre may want to stay in touch with their business associations and follow official updates from the Ayuntamiento and the Policía Nacional over the weekend.
What to watch next
Sanz said the final details of the operation still had to be agreed with the Delegación del Gobierno, so the size and layout of the deployment may change before the weekend. It is also not yet confirmed whether the calls for unrest have actually been withdrawn. Police say they will stay coordinated whatever happens. Watch for updates from the Ayuntamiento de Madrid, the Delegación del Gobierno and the Policía Nacional on Friday and Saturday.
Source: 20minutos Madrid
Sources
- 20minutos Madrid: Madrid se blinda en Halloween con un refuerzo policial ante la amenaza de altercados con el foco en Sol y Gran Vía, accessed 30 October 2026
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