Thousands of students take to Barcelona streets to “face Spanish repression”

Thousands of students demonstrated in Barcelona center on Monday early afternoon to remember the October 1, 2017 independence referendum.

According to the local police, 13,000 people attended the march, with the organization raising the figure to 50,000. 

Undergraduates also claimed that they were protesting "to face the Spanish repression" and to urge the release of the jailed political leaders.

One of the spokespeople of the 'Universities for the Republic' platform, Núria Nieto, also asked pro-independence parties to "agree to plan a coordinated strategy" to reach the Catalan state.

University strikes

A strike in all Catalan public universities was called also to remember the events taking place exactly a year ago, with some faculties suspending almost all of their lectures in the University of Barcelona (UB), the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and the University of Girona (UdG).

In other centers, such as the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), the strike was followed by less students.