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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Protests in Barcelona as Spanish cabinet holds meeting | Protests in Barcelona as Spanish cabinet holds meeting |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Demonstrators have clashed with police in Barcelona as protests continue over the Spanish government’s decision to hold a cabinet meeting in the Catalan capital on the first anniversary of the snap election called following the regional government’s unilateral independence declaration. | |
| Parts of the city were in lockdown on Friday morning, while elsewhere in Catalonia, more than 20 roads were blocked by members of the direct-action Committees for the Defence of the Republic with the aim of cutting off all access to Barcelona. | Parts of the city were in lockdown on Friday morning, while elsewhere in Catalonia, more than 20 roads were blocked by members of the direct-action Committees for the Defence of the Republic with the aim of cutting off all access to Barcelona. |
| Dozens of protesters sat on the AP 7 motorway, which runs down the Mediterranean coast, holding their hands in the air as police in riot gear pulled them from the road. Some were wearing high-visibility vests in a presumed reference both to France’s gilets jaunes activists and the colour associated with the Catalan independence movement, yellow. | |
| Some roads were blocked with tyres. | |
| Thousands of police officers were on duty to cordon off the area around Llotja de Mar, the old stock exchange building, where the ministers were meeting. | |
| Although Catalan pro-independence leaders had issued repeated calls for people to follow the tradition of peaceful protest, there were outbreaks of violence. | Although Catalan pro-independence leaders had issued repeated calls for people to follow the tradition of peaceful protest, there were outbreaks of violence. |
| Four people were arrested, including a protester who was detained on Via Laietana for being in possession of inflammable materials, according to police. | |
| In the Drassanes area of the city, near the old port, police charged demonstrators with batons after they began throwing crash barriers at police lines. | In the Drassanes area of the city, near the old port, police charged demonstrators with batons after they began throwing crash barriers at police lines. |
| Another person was arrested after large stones and other objects were thrown at police in Drassanes. Officers were also pelted with paint and bottles near La Llotja. | Another person was arrested after large stones and other objects were thrown at police in Drassanes. Officers were also pelted with paint and bottles near La Llotja. |
| Video footage showed a journalist being punched to the ground while reporting on Friday’s events. | Video footage showed a journalist being punched to the ground while reporting on Friday’s events. |
| An influential grassroots independence movement, the Catalan National Assembly, has called a large-scale protest for 6pm on Friday. | An influential grassroots independence movement, the Catalan National Assembly, has called a large-scale protest for 6pm on Friday. |
| The protests took place hours after the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the Catalan president, Quim Torra, met and agreed to hold talks to find a solution to the impasse over independence. | The protests took place hours after the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the Catalan president, Quim Torra, met and agreed to hold talks to find a solution to the impasse over independence. |
| In a joint statement, Sánchez and Torra agreed that a conflict existed over the future of Catalonia, adding: “Despite the significant differences over its origin, nature and the means of resolving it, [we] share, above all, a commitment to effective dialogue to bring about a political proposal that is widely supported by Catalan society.” | In a joint statement, Sánchez and Torra agreed that a conflict existed over the future of Catalonia, adding: “Despite the significant differences over its origin, nature and the means of resolving it, [we] share, above all, a commitment to effective dialogue to bring about a political proposal that is widely supported by Catalan society.” |
| Following Thursday’s meeting, it was announced that the city’s El Prat airport is to be renamed Josep Tarradellas after the politician who facilitated the transition to democracy in Catalonia at the end of the Franco dictatorship. | Following Thursday’s meeting, it was announced that the city’s El Prat airport is to be renamed Josep Tarradellas after the politician who facilitated the transition to democracy in Catalonia at the end of the Franco dictatorship. |
| Reuters contributed to this report | |
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| Spain | Spain |
| Europe | Europe |
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