Thousands take to the streets to protest against independence in Barcelona

THOUSANDS took to the streets of Barcelona to protest against Cataluña’s independence bid.

The demonstrators were protesting against the Catalan government’s plans to hold an independence referendum in September.

The march was led by the Societat Civil Catalana (SCC) with the motto “Aturem el cop separatist” (Stop the separatist coup).

Ciudadanos spokesperson Carlos Carrizosa attended the rally along with Partido Popular ministers (PP) and said: “To those who wish to divide us, we stand for united.”

PP’s leader in Barcelona, Alberto Fernandez Diaz, called for Carles Puigdemont to hold an election because he has “gone into a labyrinth that he does not know how to get out of,” and added that those who took to the streets were the “Catalonians silenced by independentism.”

 SCC claim almost 15,000 people attended the march, but the Barcelona council claims only 6,000 showed on the day.

Videos from @libertadunico’s twitter page show crowds chanting “Cataluña is Spain” on the streets of Barcelona.

….y sigue llegando gente a la Plaza Sant Jaume.#AturemElCop pic.twitter.com/lz5dT2qaij

— Libertad (@LibertadUnico) March 19, 2017