Puigdemont moves to Northern Catalonia for election campaign

Former Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, has moved from Belgium to Northern Catalonia – the historically Catalan strip north of the Pyrenees in present-day France.  

Puigdemont is Junts per Catalunya's top candidate for the upcoming May 12 election and intends to do a large part of the campaign with live in-person events, rather than remotely as in previous elections.  

In fact, the former president announced his candidacy on March 21 at a public event at Elna Town Hall in Northern Catalonia. 

This Saturday he will present the full list of Junts candidates for May 12. 

Puigdemont, who spearheaded the 2017 independence referendum in Catalonia deemed illegal by Spanish courts, has lived in exile since the peak of the independence crisis during that autumn. The former president has not returned to Catalonia since. 

Northern Catalonia 

Located just north of the Catalan Pyrenees, Northern Catalonia, now in France, shares a language and culture with its southern neighbors. It has a Catalan soul after being administratively part of Catalonia until the 17th century.