admin 
Open in full screen mode Thousands of Spaniards protested on Saturday in Madrid against the future amnesty law for leaders and Catalan separatist activists. Agence France-Presse Functionality available trial Log inCreate my account Voice synthesis, based on artificial intelligence, makes it possible to generate a spoken text from written text. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Madrid on Saturday to denounce the future amnesty law for Catalan separatist leaders and activists, which allowed the left-wing government to be renewed. Around 170,000 people, according to the Madrid prefecture, gathered in Cibeles Square, around the famous fountain of the same name, in the heart of the Spanish capital, where Real Madrid supporters meet in the event of victory, to respond to the call to demonstrate launched by the right. To the cries of Sanchez, traitor, Sanchez in prison! or Catalonia is Spain, the participants, of all ages, had tied on their shoulders or waved Spanish flags, while others brandished European flags distributed by the Popular Party European (EPP, right). Some have also called for EU intervention in the name of the rule of law. What Pedro Sanchez wants is cut Spain into pieces, protests Maria Angeles Galan, a 65-year-old retiree from Madrid, who has participated in other anti-amnesty demonstrations in recent days.
Pedro Sanchez during a debate held Wednesday in the Spanish Parliament, on the eve of the vote for his re-election.
Coming second in the legislative elections in July, behind right-wing leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo (PP), socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, in power since 2018, was reappointed on Thursday after negotiating in all directions to obtain the support of regionalist groups , including the Catalan independence parties.
In exchange for their votes, essential to the formation of a majority, he accepted several concessions, including the upcoming adoption of an amnesty law for separatist leaders and activists pursued in particular for their involvement in the attempted secession of Catalonia in 2017.
They know they don't have the votes to do what they are doing, said Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who accuses Pedro Sanchez of pitting Spaniards against each other.
Also present at the demonstration, the leader of the far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal, said he believed that this law was as serious as a coup d'état.
The two leaders did not appear alongside each other, although Mr Feijoo attempted to be sworn in as prime minister in September with the support of Mr. Abascal, without managing to obtain a majority in Parliament.
People of all ages participated in the demonstration in Madrid.
Mariana, a 51-year-old entrepreneur, came specially from Zaragoza, in the northeast of the country, to protest against the amnesty. I believe the fight begins now. It needs to be known, it's a message sent to Europe, she said, pointing to the European flag that her companion was holding.
10 days ago, Brussels demanded explanations from Madrid on this amnesty bill, indicating that it had been contacted on this subject by a large number of citizens.
< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">RIP Spanish democracy, 1978-2023, could we read on a large Spanish flag, while other signs called for Europe to join x27;help: Europe, help us, For the rule of law, SOS the EU, Democracy for sale.
Since For two weeks, demonstrations took place every evening in front of the Socialist Party headquarters in Madrid. Some of them degenerated and led to several dozen arrests.