Catalonia's National Day demonstration: a prelude to the independence referendum
Pro-independence civil society organizations aim to gather a massive crowd on September 11 as the clash between Catalan and Spanish governments reaches a tipping point
Each year, when people take to to the streets on Catalonia’s National Day (September 11th) to demand independence, participants hope it will be the last demonstration: the last one, it is understood, before independence is finally achieved.
However, as time has shown, creating a new state is not an easy task — especially when the Spanish government vehemently opposes the move — and the long-held claim that the next pro-independence demonstration “will be the last one” has curiously enough become a traditional motto for pro-independence supporters.
Yet, this time they may be closer to being right than ever before.
When Catalans take to the streets next Monday, the Catalan government will have already called a binding referendum on independence to be held on October 1. Never before has the challenge posed to Spanish institutions by the pro-independence parties been greater. Correspondingly, the central government response is also expected to go further than ever before in order to prevent polling stations from opening.