Some 50,000 people, according to police estimates, gathered in the Spanish capital Madrid on Sunday to reject a fragile coalition government proposed amnesty for Catalan separatists.
Tens of thousands of Spaniards took to the streets in Madrid on Sunday to protest against reports that acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez could grant amnesty to Catalan separatists in return for political support. Protesters chanted out, out and Sanchez, resign.
Spain's national parliament in Madrid allowed the use of three minority languages on Tuesday after a concession to Catalan separatists from Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Madrid has also called for the languages — Catalan, Basque, and Galician — to become official EU languages, meeting with objections from some other member states.
The former president of the Catalonian government, Carles Puigdemont on Tuesday demanded the complete abandonment of judicial proceedings against any members of the Catalan separatist movement. Speaking to journalists, Puigdemont said that any talks about his support in the formation of a new Spanish government were dependent on this condition.
The European Union Court of Justice on Wednesday confirmed that former Catalonia leader Carles Puigdemont and two other Catalan separatist Members of the European Parliament, do not have legal immunity.
The European Parliament voted on Tuesday in favor of lifting immunity from the former leader of Spain's Catalonia region, Carles Puigdemont. Lawmakers also waived immunity for Toni Comin, the former Catalan health minister, and former regional education minister Clara Ponsati.
For a fifth night street protests in Spain on Saturday turned violent following the arrest of Pablo Hasél, a popular rapper, which has triggered a national debate on freedom of expression. But the disturbances have also strained relations inside the country's fragile coalition government.
Separatist parties in Catalonia have boosted their parliamentary majority in the regional elections. The pro-union Socialist Party, led by former health minister Salvador Illa, won the most votes to claim a narrow victory but will struggle to form a government.
Catalonia announced on Thursday a 15-day ban on entering and exiting its territory, the latest in a series of restrictions taken by Spanish regions to try and contain rampant COVID-19 contagion.
Catalonia on Wednesday ordered all residents and visitors to wear face masks in public at all times, becoming the first Spanish region to toughen a national directive mandating their use when in close proximity to others.