Trains blocked for Catalan date

Pro-secession activists in Catalonia blocked major highways, train lines and avenues across the north-eastern region on the anniversary of a banned referendum that was crushed by police and failed to deliver independence from Spain.

Student strikes, emotional speeches and mass demonstrations were planned to commemorate the 1 October 2017 vote that Spanish courts had deemed illegal and caused the country’s gravest political crisis in decades.

Yesterday’s anniversary started with early protests called via online messaging apps by local activist groups.

Hundreds of activists occupied high-speed railway tracks in Girona, halting train traffic for more than two hours before they peacefully left the local station. Some protesters then moved to the local headquarters of the Spanish government’s delegation, demanding the removal of the national flag.