Violent protests at Socialists' headquarters after Pedro Sánchez's re-election
4,000 rally against controversial amnesty deal with Catalan pro-independence parties
More than 4,000 people gathered on Thursday night near the Socialists' headquarters on Ferraz Street in Madrid to protest Pedro Sánchez's controversial agreement with Catalan pro-independence parties to support his candidacy for prime minister.
The Socialists' candidate was re-elected prime minister on Thursday after securing the crucial support of Catalonia's pro-independence parties. In return, Pedro Sánchez will pass an amnesty law absolving figures involved in Catalonia's independence push over the past decade.
Smoke from flares during the protest / Arnau Martínez
According to the Spanish government delegation, ten people were arrested. Groups of radicals occupied the front rows of the protest and threw objects at the police.
Some raised anti-constitutional flags, mimicked fascist salutes, and shouted racist and homophobic slogans and chants against former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont.
The protest was promoted by far-right groups associated with Vox. In fact, at one point in the rally, the vice president of Vox, Javier Ortega Smith, was present. Flags of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco were also displayed.
Demonstrators shouted slogans such as "Pedro Sánchez to the guillotine," "Pedro Sánchez, son of a bitch," or "This police defends amnesty.
Some of the most radical demonstrators threw firecrackers and lit smoking pots as they tried to break through the fence line and advance toward the Socialists' headquarters, which was shielded by police.