More than 40 people were injured after Spanish police launched tear gas and fired rubber bullets at hundreds of demonstrators in Barcelona, UPI cited officials as saying. One police agent and 42 demonstrators were injured in the Plaza Catalunya as pressure from authorities mounted on demonstrators to end nearly two weeks of sit-in protests, El Sol reported Friday. Five protesters remain in the hospital and two people have been arrested by police. Barcelona police ordered demonstrators to remove their tents, mattresses, sofas and other objects from the square. The protesters were part of the M-15 movement, launched May 15, that brought tens of thousands of people to the streets right before local and regional elections. The movement criticizes Spain's 20 percent unemployment rate, the eurozone's highest. Police were ordered to avoid incidents ahead of the elections and allowed protesters to occupy dozens of squares around the country. In Lerida west of Barcelona, which also ordered the evacuation of political protesters from the main square, more than 100 people clashed with police. Two people were arrested.
