Busted in Barcelona! Paper airplane protest against airport expansion, Part 2
To protest against airport expansion, overtourism, and skyrocketing rents in Barcelona adbusters from Barcelona came up with an exciting adbusting idea: folding posters in advertising displays into paper airplanes and scribbling "Caiguda Lliure" or "Free Fall" on the resulting blank space. We joined in the action. It got slightly out of hand: Two arrests, three identity checks, and the police presumably collected all the data of the conference participants. The proceedings have since been dropped. Here's what we learned from it.
Support Needed at Conference
We were in Barcelona at the "Ban Fossil Ads Gathering." For their action, the Adbusters sought support from the audience without consulting the conference organizers: We were immediately on board. At the agreed-upon location in the center of Barcelona, a short briefing was held at the agreed-upon time. The Barcelona Adbusters are highly organized: They have, for example, very impressive online maps of the city that show the advertising displays and even the keys needed to open them. The locals explained to us how to open the cases, which keys are needed, and which origami technique we should use to fold the posters inside the displays. You can find a tutorial here:
German Armed Forces connection?
We're considering whether the paper airplanes could have a German Armed Forces connection. Here are the first experiments, which still need some development:
If you have any ideas on how to turn this into a coherent action, please send an email to w2a@riseup.net
Questions?
In our excitement about carrying out an event in an unfamiliar city, we unfortunately neglected to familiarize ourselves with the local conditions. A few questions for the organizers regarding the location and their rights vis-à-vis the police would have ensured greater awareness and security. Our partners in Barcelona would certainly have been happy to answer them had we shown interest.
Folding Paper Airplanes
So we set off through nighttime Barcelona. It was really exciting to do something like this with new people. Everything went pretty well. The advertising displays are much easier to open than here in Berlin. They're much less dilapidated. The stunt was effective: a few people stopped and looked at the paper airplanes in the displays. We made good time. We completed our route quite quickly. We had no contact with the police or any other problems. But unfortunately, that wasn't the case for all the teams…
Two Arrests
But at Plaça de Catalunya, one of Barcelona's main squares, the police noticed the paper airplanes. Several police vans stopped. The officers fanned out and stopped a person from France and a person from Germany.
Communication Problems
The two officers initially took the officers' attempts to point out their lack of Spanish or Catalan language skills as a joke. But when they ask for identification, they're in for a surprise: the ID shown looks different. Their reaction: "Passport!" When they repeat that they want identification, one of the stopped officers says "German passport." Shortly afterward, the reason becomes clear: the cops don't speak English.
So the suspected adbusters are taken to the two vans. Among the 15 officers monitoring them, three are fortunate enough to speak English. The officers' faces betray their surprise and, above all, their annoyance. They confront the two activists, asking why they don't engage in such nonsense back home in France or Germany.
Changing Perspectives
In subsequent conversations, one of the victims describes his experience as follows: "The whole thing feels quite unsafe, unpleasant, and threatening. All because the people don't speak the local language, they don't know the legal procedures, and their powerful and armed counterparts don't seem to make much of an effort to handle the situation appropriately." The victims' accounts are an instructive experience for us: Activists are mostly white, educated, middle-class kids (like us), who shouldn't really be in any danger. How must refugees or people of color feel in Berlin during police checks, when they have to experience something similar?
Selective Search
The cops search what the suspects are carrying. They start by taking apart one suspect's bag and spreading the contents out on the floor. They examine everything very closely. This takes time... But the cops find two phones and are very excited. In their excitement and zeal, they forget to search the second person's bag.
Say the hostel?
The cops are particularly interested in where the two suspects are staying. Now things get tense: Almost all the international conference participants are staying in the same hostel. Now it's about the safety of all conference attendees, most of whom don't even know about the operation. To find out the hotel, he even threatens the two with jail: "Otherwise, I'll have to arrest you!"
"Shut the fuck up!"
Now two higher-ranking cops arrive. One repeats her colleague's demand that they say which hotel the suspects are staying in. And that they should answer. At that moment, one suspect has a brilliant idea: "Do I have to say that?" The female commissioner remains silent and begins to grin. Her colleague in the background, who also speaks English, shouts loudly, "Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!"
Badge numbers?
Those affected spot the badge numbers on the uniforms. They ask if they can get cards with them, or something to write them down. "No, you can just remember them!" is the answer. Just like in Germany... Luckily, the numbers are indeed easy to remember: 22268, 10900, 50631... Or was it 22280, 10800, 15631?
Sign?
After a little over an hour, the ordeal is over. Those affected are allowed to gather their belongings and pack them up. The cops ask if they want to sign a form. But there's a learning experience: "Do we have to sign this?" No answer, no signatures.
Wild deletion
The cops leave. Those affected are allowed to go. They send a message to the conference chat group and briefly describe their experience. Instead of helpful contributions that address the concerns of those affected, a frenzied deletion of images and posts has begun. Some are leaving the conference group for the time being.
Data stolen at the hostel?
Unfortunately, the cops somehow managed to find out which hostel the two victims were staying at during the operation (hostel key cards in their wallets?). Two police units showed up at the hostel while the operation was still underway. The cops successfully pressured the receptionist to hand over their data. What data exactly? We don't know. Potentially the entire conference: including room occupancy and copies of IDs...
Undercover cops on their tails
The victims are at least free again. What they don't know: They're accompanied by undercover cops who will be on their tail from now on... But what happened next, we'll describe in the next part, the third installment of our multi-part, super exciting and thrilling Brazilone saga!
More info:
Spectacular Part 1 of our exciting Barcelona adventure saga, which vividly portrays the planning and impact of the Paper Planes action:
Solidarity posters in Barcelona in response to the court case in Berlin:
https://antifawerkstatt.noblogs.org/post/2025/10/01/adbustings-basteln-in-barcelona/
Lots of pictures of the Paper Planes action:
https://multimedia.ecologistasenaccion.org/Catalunya/Cauen-avions-a-Barcelona
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