Torra and Puigdemont in Belgium warn of parties ‘fueling confrontation’

Carles Puigdemont warned on Monday that some Catalan political parties are "fueling a non-existent civil confrontation." Although he did not name the party, the exiled leader’s words referred to the unionist Ciutadans’ denunciation of a "social fracture" in Catalonia, after a man allegedly attacked a woman whose children tore down yellow ribbons, even though both people involved in the fight deny there was a political motive.

The former Catalan president made the remarks while talking to the press after a meeting marking the beginning of the political year with his successor, Quim Torra, in Waterloo, in Belgium.

Puigdemont believes that political parties such as Ciutadans "have created mechanisms for confrontation" with the help of some media. For him, this media narrative is a "toxic bubble" that he said would not succeed.