Catalans stop work in protest

BARCELONA, SPAIN — Highways were blocked, schools closed and much business halted across Catalonia Tuesday as tens of thousands of workers and students joined strikes and took to the streets to protest the use of force by police that left hundreds injured during a disputed referendum on the region’s secession.

In the regional capital, Barcelona, where bus and subway services were affected, disoriented tourists scrambled to find open cafeterias to avoid the protests.

There were moments of tension when a handful of picketers forced the closure of shops that had remained open in the city’s famed Las Ramblas boulevard, but elsewhere the demonstrations were largely peaceful.

Separatist groups and unions had initially called on strikes to be held on Tuesday in support for Catalan leaders pushing ahead with a declaration of independence from Spain.

But many non-separatists were also drawn to the streets following a violent crackdown on a referendum vote on Sunday.

People are angry, very angry,” said Josep Llavina, a 53-year-old self-employed worker who had travelled to Barcelona from a nearby town to participate in the protest outside the regional offices of Spain’s National Police.

The building became a focal point for protesters, gathering thousands at midday who shouted that the police were an “occupying force” and urged Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to resign.

“They brought violence with them,” Llavina said. They have beaten people who were holding their hands up. How can we not be outraged?”

The central government in Madrid is blaming Catalan separatist politicians and grassroots groups for the violence, saying they “plotted to break the law” and drew citizens to an unlawful vote.