CROWDS RETURN
Jose Moya, who has worked as a florist on Las Ramblas in Barcelona for the past 30 years and whose stall narrowly escaped being hit by the van in the attack, said on Friday he wished police had put more thought into how to protect the area.
"We have always said Las Ramblas is an easy target," he said. "What happened is an atrocity. I'm not saying it's the police's fault (...) (but) I don't know, maybe you can't put in bollards, but if we're on high alert, you could have police vans stationed there blocking the way. It would have saved lives."
Authorities in Catalonia said attacks like Thursday's were hard to prevent.
"Absolute security is impossible, it would mean giving up our freedom and shuttering ourselves up in our homes," Barcelona's mayor, Ada Colau, told Catalan television.
"Having 100 percent control over the many places that could be targets in a large and international city like Barcelona is impossible," she said.
"I understand the debate, but this is not practical (...) we can't fill up Barcelona with bollards," Joaquim Forn, who runs home affairs in Catalonia, told Spanish radio.
In spite of the security concerns many in Barcelona shrugged off fears of attack to pay their respects to the victims on Friday.
By midday thousands of people had returned the Ramblas area, gathering in a nearby square, chanting "We are not afraid." Police were inspecting backpacks and handbags belonging to people trying to access the area as a precaution.
Earlier in the day many shops and restaurants on the Ramblas boulevard had reopened.
