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| Clashes in Barcelona during protests against Spanish cabinet meeting | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Demonstrators have clashed with police in Barcelona during protests against the Spanish government’s decision to hold a cabinet meeting in the Catalan capital on the first anniversary of the snap election called after the regional government’s unilateral independence declaration. | Demonstrators have clashed with police in Barcelona during protests against the Spanish government’s decision to hold a cabinet meeting in the Catalan capital on the first anniversary of the snap election called after 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 hi-vis vests in a presumed reference both to France’s gilets jaunes activists and the colour associated with the Catalan independence movement, yellow. | 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 hi-vis 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. | 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. | 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. |
| Seven people were arrested, including a protester who was detained on Via Laietana for being in possession of inflammable materials, according to police. | Seven 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 protesters with batons after they began throwing crash barriers at police lines. | In the Drassanes area of the city, near the old port, police charged protesters with batons after they began throwing crash barriers at police lines. |
| A 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. | A 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 (ANC), has called a large-scale protest for 6pm on Friday. | An influential grassroots independence movement, the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), has called a large-scale protest for 6pm on Friday. |
| Priscillia Ludosky, a spokeswoman for the gilets jaunes movement in France, met the president of the ANC on Friday. | Priscillia Ludosky, a spokeswoman for the gilets jaunes movement in France, met the president of the ANC on Friday. |
| Ludosky told reporters she had come to Barcelona to see what the two movements had in common, adding that people in France had also been fighting for “more democracy” and sovereignty. | Ludosky told reporters she had come to Barcelona to see what the two movements had in common, adding that people in France had also been fighting for “more democracy” and sovereignty. |
| “I’m here to try to understand what’s going on in our neighbouring country and to see what we have in common and the bad things that all governments have in common,” she said. | “I’m here to try to understand what’s going on in our neighbouring country and to see what we have in common and the bad things that all governments have in common,” she said. |
| 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 | Reuters contributed to this report |
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| Europe | Europe |
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