Barcelona Braces for Sustained Protests After Police Raids
- Separatists call ‘permanent’ demonstration from noon Thursday
- Premier Rajoy aims to block independence vote with crackdown
Spain’s Dastis Says He Wants Clarity From May on Brexit
This article is for subscribers only.
Barcelona is bracing for ongoing protests after campaigners for Catalan independence scuffled overnight with Spanish police cracking down on plans for a referendum on secession.
Thousands of people, mainly retirees and college students, gathered in downtown Barcelona on Thursday with a second day of demonstrations marked by a carnival atmosphere, a shift in tone from the night before. Volunteers erected stalls to distribute propaganda and set up a media center, while on the opposite side of the palm-tree-fringed plaza technicians prepared a music stage for a neighborhood fiesta.