Thousands of demonstrators rallied across Madrid on Saturday, calling for Spanish unity and demanding action to resolve a volatile political crisis over plans by Catalan separatists to declare independence.
Madrid’s central Colon Square was transformed into a sea of Spanish flags as several thousand people joined a “patriotic” march organised by activists to defend the unity of Spain.
Hundreds of others, all dressed in white, gathered in a nearby plaza outside Madrid city hall in a separate rally calling for dialogue to end the crisis, among them families with young children.
The rallies followed days of soaring tensions after police cracked down on voters during a banned October 1 Catalan independence referendum, prompting regional leaders to warn they would declare unilaterally declare independence in days.
“Rajoy, you wuss, defend the nation!” chanted one group of young, mostly-male demonstrators as they marched into Colon Square waving Spanish flags as well as one bearing the Francoist Black eagle.
Tentative signs have emerged that the two sides may be seeking to defuse the country’s worst crisis in a generation after Madrid offered a first apology on Friday to Catalans injured by police during the vote.
