Isla warns about the B9: "Irresponsibility doesn't go unpunished and has consequences"
Puigdemont demands the transfer of immigration powers to Catalonia to deal with situations like that of the former high school
Barcelona"The Catalan government's priority is to resolve the situation, discreetly and diligently." With these words, the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, explained that they are trying to find a solution for the dozens of occupants of the former B9 high school in Badalona, who are now living on the streets. However, there is still no announcement to be made: "I hope that in the coming hours there will be tangible signs in this direction," Illa stated. The Catalan leader called for "calm," especially among the residents of Badalona, following the protests of recent days. President Illa also criticized, without directly naming him, the mayor of Badalona, Xavier Garcia Albiol. For example, he thanked the organizations working to resolve the situation. "They don't give interviews, they work," he said, adding shortly afterward: "Irresponsibility doesn't go unpunished and has consequences." At the press conference reviewing the 2025 results, the head of the Catalan government stated that he had spoken with Albiol but wished to remain discreet. Isla insisted that the Catalan government guarantees "compliance with the law, peaceful coexistence, and humanist values."
Puigdemont's reaction
For his part, former Catalan president and Junts leader Carles Puigdemont has demanded that immigration powers be transferred to Catalonia so that it can address situations like that of the people evicted from the B9 housing complex. In a message released this Tuesday, he argued that the Catalan government should assume these powers and that municipalities should be provided "with the legal tools and material resources to give responsible responses to the concerns of the public." Dozens of people were evacuated from the B9 last week and have been sleeping rough, most of them under a bridge on the C-31 highway. Some organizations in the city have arranged to take in about thirty people, but many still have nowhere to go. Even when a space has been secured for some to sleep in, it has faced opposition from local residents.
Puigdemont attributed this rejection to the "inflammatory attitude" of the city's mayor, Xavier García Albiol, and deemed it urgent to "restore peaceful coexistence and respect for fundamental rights." "Under no circumstances can the most fundamental rights be called into question or put at risk," he emphasized, warning that "extremism offers no solutions to conflicts; on the contrary, it fuels them to gain electoral advantage." In this regard, he pointed to the PP—Albiol's party—and the PSOE as "incapable of proposing solutions to a problem they themselves have helped create." He also criticized the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, for his "absence" during this crisis and prescribed "serenity and courage" to "recognize the reality that exists" in many municipalities and that "must be addressed rigorously, not with demagoguery."
