Boarded-up windows and early closing: Palma's shops await the Blocus protest with fear

PalmaPalma businesses board up their storefronts amid fears that the Blocus protest may result in damage in the city center. Wooden panels to protect windows, businesses considering closing early, and an employers' association recommending shutting down from 6:00 PM paint the scene ahead of this Friday's demonstration, scheduled for 7:30 PM at the Plaça d'Espanya.

The images of workers boarding up shop windows highlight the concern of a part of the commercial sector regarding the possibility of incidents occurring. Afedeco argues that bringing forward the closing time would facilitate the departure of employees and customers before the protest and avoid unnecessary travel through the affected areas. The recommendation is voluntary and each establishment will decide whether to follow it, but the federation is calling on the authorities for a preventive and coordinated police deployment to guarantee the safety of businesses and people.

Afedeco recommends advancing the closing

In a statement released on Thursday, Afedeco recommended that businesses in Palma, especially those located in the center, voluntarily consider moving up their closing time this Friday. The federation argues that this could facilitate the departure of employees and customers before the demonstration and avoid unnecessary travel through areas that might be affected.

The business organization insists that this is not a closure order and that each establishment must make the decision based on its own circumstances. At the same time, it demands from the administrations a preventive, coordinated, and sufficient police deployment to protect businesses, workers, and customers.

The employer's association had already conveyed its concern to the Government Delegation and had requested more police presence in the commercial areas near Plaça d'Espanya and other points in the center.

The City Council asks for calm and the National Police has not detected any organized groups

The Palma City Council has conveyed a message of reassurance to the representatives of Afedeco and Pimeco and has assured that the Local Police remain vigilant and coordinated with the rest of the security forces to respond to any incident.

For their part, sources from the National Police have stated that they have not detected any organized Blocus groups in Palma in relation to the demonstration called via social media for this Friday. According to these sources, a preventive operation will be deployed over the weekend, also taking into account that Halloween is celebrated on Saturday, but they have specified that it will not be a special operation nor will it have extraordinary reinforcements.

The National Police have also noted that, for the moment, there is no evidence of organized groups like those allegedly behind the disturbances in Barcelona. Furthermore, the demonstration has not been communicated to the Government Delegation.

The call, spread anonymously through various Instagram accounts, urges people to gather at 7:30 p.m. in Plaça d'Espanya under the slogan 'For a fairer future, for a better Mallorca for everyone'.

Thus, while some establishments have chosen to protect their shop windows and Afedeco recommends voluntarily bringing forward closing times, the National Police assure that they have not detected any organized groups on the island and are planning a preventive operation for the weekend.