Thousands fill central Barcelona to oppose Catalan split from Spain

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators packed the streets of central Barcelona on Sunday in defense of Spanish unity and peaceful coexistence in Catalonia just days after the Catalan parliament voted in favor of independence from Spain, prompting the Spanish government to activate a constitutional mechanism that stripped the region of its autonomy.


The rally, organized by the Catalan Civil Society platform, snaked down Paseo de Gracia, one of Barcelona's main thoroughfares, and brought together a large crowd topped with red and yellow Spanish national and official Catalan Senyera flags as well as an abundance of European Union emblems.

"We are all Catalonia," was the uniting slogan of the demonstration, which comes at a time of sky-high tensions in the affluent northeastern region of Spain following a recent independence bid that pitted separatist officials against the central government in Madrid.

According to organizers, the event attracted 1.1 million participants but the city police offered a lower figure of 300,000.
 EFE/EPA
 29/10/17
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