Supporters of the unity of Spain, they denounced the strategy of confrontation of the separatists and the violence that followed the condemnation of separatist leaders.

Tens of thousands of Catalans supporting the unity of Spain marched Sunday in Barcelona to denounce the strategy of confrontation of the separatists and the violence that followed the condemnation of separatist leaders. Protesters, estimated by the municipal police at 80,000, descended the elegant avenue of paseo de Gracia, waving Spanish and Catalan flags, and shouting "that's enough" or "the streets are for everyone". A response to the separatists, who were Saturday 350,000 to demonstrate Saturday in Barcelona by hammering "the streets will always be ours".

"We have to go out and say what we think"

This rich region of 7.5 million inhabitants has been divided since the rise of the independence wave in 2012. The latest poll published in July by the separatist regional government of Catalonia gave 44% supporters of independence against 48.3 % of opponents.

Xavier Dalamantes, 40, employed in the pharmaceutical industry, wore the Spanish flag on his shoulders like a cape, denouncing what separatists call the "process" of secession. "For years I've been trying to bear, at first I closed my eyes but there is a moment when you have to go out and say what you think," he told AFP. "They are trying to make Catalonia a totalitarian state".

"Silent majority"

The march was convened by the association Societat Civil Catalana (SCC), to demonstrate that anti-separatists form a "silent majority". "This is an important message for Catalonia, Spain and the world, where we often confuse independence and Catalonia", while "we are the majority," told AFP the president of the SCC, Fernando Sánchez Costa.

But fifteen days before the legislative elections of November 10, the leaders of the right-wing parties of Spain and members of the socialist government joined the demonstration. Foreign Minister, Catalan Josep Borrell, denounced "an unacceptable level of violence, never seen since the 1980s" in pro-independence demonstrations after the Supreme Court sentenced nine separatist leaders to heavy prison terms on 14 October. The main cities of Catalonia had been the scene for four nights of street fighting scenes that left more than 600 wounded, almost half of them policemen.

New clashes

On Saturday evening, the tension returned to Barcelona when after a great peaceful demonstration, some 10,000 people mocked for hours the anti-riot units of the Catalan police, calling them "occupation forces", and throwing bottles at them, cans and firecrackers. The police eventually dispersed them with truncheons and firing bullets. These clashes have left several dozen casualties on both sides, according to the region's emergency services and law enforcement.

Pablo Casado, leader of the Popular Party, the main opposition force, called on the socialist government to "guarantee the freedoms of all Catalans" and to break more clearly with separatists. Having come to power in June 2018 partly thanks to the votes of the Catalan separatists, Pedro Sanchez had begun a dialogue with them that quickly ended. But the right continues to blame the separatists for their weakness.

The leader of the far-right party Vox, Santiago Abascal, presented himself on Saturday as the only one able to take up the challenge of the separatists. "In the face of the betrayals of the Socialist Party, there is only Vox, in the face of criminal separatism, there is only Vox," he exclaimed before 20,000 supporters in Madrid. His party entered parliament in April, winning 24 seats out of 350, but several recent polls make it the third largest force in parliament in the next election.