3,700 march for unity of Spain in national day in Barcelona

3,700 people, according to local police, marched for the unity of Spain in the country's national day on Sunday afternoon in Barcelona.

The event, hosted by hardliner unionist entities Cataluña Suma por España and Espanya i Catalans, began at Antoni Gaudí's La Pedrera building in Passeig de Gràcia, and ended in Plaça Catalunya with some speeches.

The main right-wing parties PP and Vox supported and attended the demonstration, as well as Cs, and some other entities of the same sector: Societat Civil Catalana, Impulso Ciudadano, S’ha Acabat, Hablamos Español and other Spanish nationalist groups.

The event heard chants against the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the pro-independence movement. The speeches denounced that the Socialist-led government in Madrid "has been hijacked by seven separatist votes," referring to Carles Puigdemont's Junts party being essential for any legislation to move forward in Congress.

Some people chanted 'Pedro Sánchez, son of a bitch,' or 'Puigdemont, to jail,' while a few Francoist Spanish flags and other fascist symbols were also spotted.

The same demonstration last year saw 500 protestors, half of the amount in 2023. In 2017 and 2018, the peak years of the Catalan independence political conflict, Spain's National Day were attended by 65,000 people.

Catalan president attends military parade in Madrid

Meanwhile, Madrid hosted the traditional military parade to mark the day. After a decade of pro-independence governments in Catalonia and refusals to attend the event by the top Catalan authority, the new political cycle last year saw Socialist –and unionist– Salvador Illa come to power and attend the parade.

This year, Illa returned to Madrid to witness the Spanish army show, including the parade of the popular goat accompanying the Spanish Legion, an elite force that played a major role during the Spanish Civil War siding with the fascist Francisco Franco, who went on to become dictator for four decades.

Before the event, Illa hailed coexistence in Spain on X.

"Coexistence is recognizing and guaranteeing plurality and diversity in Spain, its lands and its languages," he posted. "In a moment like now, with such deep changes, we have to protect our Spain and emphasize what unites us."

Anticolonialist demonstration

Elsewhere, an anticolonialist demonstration was set for 6 pm, beginning at 52, Avinguda Paral·lel. The event aims to reject the Spanish National Day and, especially, the reason why it is held on October 12, the day Christopher Columbus first arrived in America in 1492.