REPORTAGE
It is the first time that Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan regional president, has been at the gates of Spain since his departure to Brussels, in 2017. Condemned for sedition by Spanish justice, the Catalan independentist will gather on Saturday tens of thousands of supporters in Perpignan, in the south of France.
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Now that he no longer risks extradition following the obtaining of his immunity from a MEP, the Catalan separatists will offer him a big crowd in this city in the south of France very close to the border. Because, for them, Perpignan represents the capital of "northern Catalonia".
Puigdemont received with honors in Perpignan. The crowd is mainly made up of southern Catalans pic.twitter.com/7b0lOPz32X
- Henry de Laguérie (@henrydelaguerie) February 29, 2020"It's a great honor"
Friday evening, Carles Puigdemont was the guest of honor of the rugby club of the Union sportive arlequins perpignanais (Usap). He was welcomed as a rock star. At the microphone of Europe 1, he said "very happy to be able to be on Catalan soil, to be with friends, to see the Catalan flag, to share the same culture, and finally to be with us". Present in the crowd, Chantal, she denounces the attitude of Spain towards the separatists. "It is a great honor because he is the last president of the Catalan Republic and we treat him like a thief, a condemned man," she points out.
Earlier in the city center, hundreds of freelancers strolled the streets. If for traders and restaurateurs, this affluence represents a boon, on the side of Perpignan, the coming of Carles Puigdemont is not unanimous. "He does not have to be here. He is someone who does not have the courage for his actions before Spanish justice. He really lacks courage," contests a resident.
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If he objects to this displacement, it is also, according to him, for health reasons. "There is still an epidemic of coronavirus and we, this morning, we are left with 100,000 Catalans from Barcelona, Girona ... We can ask questions," he indignant.
Received by local politicians
All the candidates for the elections, the outgoing mayor of the right, the representative of the left and the macronist candidate wanted to receive Carles Puigdemont, with the exception of Louis Aliot, of the National Rally.
The organizers have reserved 600 buses and estimate that between 70,000 and 100,000 separatist militants will make the trip to Spain for this meeting which should start at 12 noon on the esplanade of the Perpignan exhibition center.