Demonstration of 26-J in Palma: blocked streets, route and affected bus lines

PalmaPalma will once again experience this Sunday, July 26, a new demonstration against tourist overcrowding. The mobilization, called by the platform Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) with the slogan 'Mallorca at its limit', will begin at 7 p.m. in Plaça d’Espanya and will tour several of the main streets in the center of Palma.

The march will pass through Plaça d'Espanya, Avinguda del Comte de Sallent, Avinguda d'Alemanya, Baró de Pinopar, La Rambla, Riera, Unió, Passeig del Born, Plaça de la Reina, Antoni Maura, before ending at Parc de la Mar. The Palma City Council has prepared a special traffic device with closures and diversions as the demonstration progresses.At what time will the cuts start?

Traffic restrictions will begin at 7 p.m. and will affect different points in the center of Palma. The Local Police have planned diversions at various access points to facilitate the passage of the demonstration and ensure the safety of the participants.

Among the main impacts will be the diversion of traffic on Alemanya Avenue towards Spain Square through the General Riera tunnel. Traffic from General Riera will also be diverted towards Alemanya Avenue and Antoni Marquès.

Vehicles circulating on 31 de Desembre and Eusebi Estada streets will be diverted towards Comte de Sallent avenue. Additionally, access from Antoni Maura towards Plaça de la Reina and from Jaume III towards Joan Carles I will be blocked.

What will happen with the parking lots?

There will also be changes in the exits of several underground car parks. Specifically, the exit from the Comte de Sallent car park towards Plaça d’Espanya, the one from the avinguda de Roma car park towards Baró de Pinopar, and the one from the Plaça Major car park towards La Rambla will be temporarily closed.

During the operation, the restricted access controls (ACIRE) of Riera and Unió streets will also be temporarily cancelled.

Which EMT lines will be diverted?

The disruptions will also affect public transport. EMT Palma will temporarily reroute lines A1, L1, L3, L4, L5, L7, L8, L10, L12, L14, L16, L20, L22, L23, L24, L25, L33, L35, L46, and L47.

Line 35, which connects the Aquarium with Plaça de la Reina and the Cathedral, will temporarily have its start and end of route at stop 559, on Eusebi Estada. Several stops on this line will also be temporarily out of service while the diversions last. EMT recommends that users consult the notices on the app, the website, and the affected stops before traveling.

The TIB will also modify the routes of the lines affected by the demonstration's route.

A protest against mass tourism

The demonstration, with the slogan ‘Mallorca al límit’ (Mallorca at its limit), arrives in the middle of the tourist season and at a particularly tense moment between the movements against tourist overcrowding and the institutions. The protest is the third major mobilization in little more than a year and calls for a change of model in the face of the effects of tourism on housing, territory, natural resources, infrastructure, and working conditions. The organizers demand, among other measures, limiting the growth of tourist places, halting the urbanization of rural land, expanding public housing, and protecting natural and agricultural spaces.

This year's mobilization is also marked by the controversy over the direct action manual by Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) and by the arrest of two activists from Santa Maria, accused of various crimes for graffiti and damage to real estate agencies. The arrests, searches, and the extensive report by the Civil Guard have opened another debate on the proportionality of the police response and the limits of the persecution of social protests.