Travelling to Barcelona? Beware of the humble water gun

Residents are using water guns as a 'weapon' as well as a tool to keep themselves cool at anti-tourism protests

- AP

A group of tourists were sitting at an outdoor table in the Spanish city of Barcelona, trying to enjoy their drinks, when a woman raised a cheap plastic water gun and shot an arc of water at them.

Her weapon of choice—the cheap, squirt-squirt variety—is an increasingly common fixture at anti-tourism protests in the southern European country, where many locals fear that an overload of visitors is driving them from their cherished neighbourhoods.

How did the humble water gun become a symbol of discontent?

The phenomenon started last July, when a fringe, left-wing activist group based in Barcelona that promotes the "degrowth" of the city's successful tourism sector held its first successful rally. Some brought water guns to shoot one another and stay cool in the summer heat.