According to the prefecture of the Pyrenees-Orientales, 100,000 people participated in Perpignan on Saturday at the giant meeting of the Catalan independentist Carles Puigdemont. The organizers have put forward the figure of 150,000 participants.
At the #Perpignan exhibition center at 11 a.m. the crowd never seems to stop. Everyone is waiting for Carles Puigdemont pic.twitter.com/ehjsD5APP8
- LIndep_Perpignan (@LIndep_perpi) February 29, 2020 Preparem-nos per a la lluita definitiva. No hem d'esperar temps millors perquè ja els tenim aquí i són between nosaltres. Ja no ens aturarem, ja no ens aturaran!
📍200,000 thanks, també als qui us han impedit arribar. Thanks to tot cor.
Foto: @jordiborras / @MonDiari pic.twitter.com/PSb8hT3NDB
It is the first time that the former regional president, now protected by his immunity from a MEP, has been in the immediate vicinity of Spain, since his departure for Brussels. Until this immunity was obtained, following a long legal battle, he did not venture to travel to France, a country whose collaboration with Madrid is close. Destroyed by the Spanish government after the attempted secession, Carles Puigdemont fled to Belgium to escape prosecution by the Spanish justice system which sentenced former members of his team to prison.
A reception that is not to the taste of Manuel Valls
Arriving from neighboring Catalonia by car, train or hundreds of buses, his supporters waved independence flags or portraits of the Catalan leader. Before this meeting, Carles Puigdemont attended Friday night in Perpignan a match of the local rugby team, the Dragons, and was received by the mayor of Perpignan, Jean-Marc Pujol, and the president of the department, Hermeline Malherbe.
An arrival which was denounced by the former French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, unsuccessful candidate last year for the post of mayor of Barcelona, his hometown.
No @KRLS ..you are in France, a Republic, one and indivisible..vs are protected by your parliamentary immunity but vs are not welcome there..vs vs deliver to a provocation towards Spain, a Rule of law and a beautiful democracy, and values of the EU. https://t.co/xLgl9hhlEY
- Manuel Valls (@manuelvalls) February 28, 2020"The better days are already here"
During the meeting, the ex-regional president called for "permanent mobilization" against "a monarchical [Spanish] regime which is the direct heir to Francoism". "We won't stop and they won't stop us," said Carles Puigdemont. We don't have to wait for better days because the better days are already here. "
The discussions have just started on Wednesday in Madrid between the central government and the Catalan government to try to find a solution to this conflict which has been fueling political life in Spain for years.
Politics
Perpignan: The giant meeting of the former Catalan separatist president Carles Puigdemont authorized by the prefecture
World
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- Languedoc-Roussillon
- Perpignan
- Catalonia
- Spain