The 2010 Catalan autonomy protest was a demonstration in central

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

on 10 July 2010 against limitations of the autonomy of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

, and particularly against a recent decision of the

Spanish Constitutional Court The Constitutional Court ( es, Tribunal Constitucional) is the supreme interpreter of the Spanish Constitution, with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts and statutes made by any public body, central, regional, or local in Spa ...

to annul or reinterpret several articles of the 2006 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia. The number of people taking part in the demonstration was estimated at between 1.1 million (according to the local police) and 1.5 million (according to the organisers),. while

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

-based newspaper

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

estimated the number of demonstrators at 425,000. The mobilisation was described as "unprecedented" by the mayor of

. The Barcelona daily newspaper ''

El Periódico de Catalunya ''El Periódico de Catalunya'' (, ), also simply known as ''El Periódico'', is a morning daily newspaper based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The paper publishes separate daily editions in Spanish and in Catalan. The two editions combined sel ...

'' described it as "without a doubt one of the biggest protest marches that has ever occurred in Catalonia, possibly the biggest". It is thought that the

2012 Catalan independence demonstration The 2012 Catalan independence demonstration was a protest march which occurred in central Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, on 11 September 2012 during the National Day of Catalonia. The protestors demanded the independence of Catalonia and it ...

involved more people, but this protest brought the dispute to light in the world. The demonstration was led by a banner with the slogan in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

''Som una nació. Nosaltres decidim.'' (in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, "We are a nation. We decide.").

Background

A new Statute of Autonomy for Catalonia was a key promise by

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

candidate

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. ...

in the run-up to the 2003 Catalan parliamentary election and the 2004 Spanish general elections. The new Statute was approved by 91% of the

Parliament of Catalonia The Parliament of Catalonia ( ca, Parlament de Catalunya, ; es, Parlamento de Cataluña; oc, Parlament de Catalonha) is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. The Parliament is currently made up of 135 m ...

, by the ''

Cortes Generales The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies m ...

'' (parliament of Spain), albeit in a curtailed form, and finally by the electors of Catalonia in a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

on 18 June 2006 (73.24% in favour on a turnout of 48.85%). Almost immediately, the opposition People's Party launched a legal challenge to declare unconstitutional much of the new Statute. The opinion of the judges in the Constitutional Court was divided between "progressives", who felt the Statute was basically in line with Spain's 1978 Constitution, and "conservatives", who felt the Statute gave Catalonia far too much autonomy and so threatened the unity of the Spanish State. The debate went on for four years, with one judge dying in the meantime and four other judges continuing long after their terms of office had theoretically come to an end. A compromise was finally reached on 28 June 2010, and passed by six votes to four. The summary judgment published the same day revealed that the Court had declared parts of 14 out of 277 articles unconstitutional and would submit 27 more to restrictive "interpretation". The full judgment was released on 9 July 2010.

Organisation of the protest

The protest was organised by the prominent Catalan cultural organisation

Òmnium Cultural Òmnium Cultural () is a Catalan association based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It was originally created in the 1960s to promote the Catalan language and spread Catalan culture. Over the years it has increased its involvement in broader political is ...

with the public support of about 1,600 other organisations, including four out of the six political parties represented in the

(representing more than 85% of votes at the last parliamentary election), the two main

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

s (

CCOO The Workers' Commissions ( es, Comisiones Obreras, CCOO) since the 1970s has become the largest trade union in Spain. It has more than one million members, and is the most successful union in labor elections, competing with the Unión General de ...

and

Unión General de Trabajadores The Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT, General Union of Workers) is a major Spanish trade union, historically affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). History The UGT was founded 12 August 1888 by Pablo Iglesias Posse ...

(UGT)), the main employers' federation ( Cipec), and

F.C. Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

. The march had been planned to start at 18:00 CEST (16:00 UTC) at the junction between the Avinguda Diagonal and the Passeig de Gràcia . It was then to have descended the Passeig de Gràcia to its junction with the Gran Via, before turning left and finishing at the Plaça de Tetuan , a distance of about 2 kilometres (1 miles).

Events on the day

Well before 18:00, crowds had started to press down the Passeig de Gràcia from Diagonal, and many people were still moving up from the

Plaça de Catalunya Plaça de Catalunya (, meaning in English "Catalonia Square"; sometimes referred to as Plaza de Cataluña, its Spanish name) is a large square in central Barcelona that is generally considered to be both its city centre and the place where the old ...

along both the Passeig de Gràcia and the parallel

Rambla de Catalunya Rambla de Catalunya (; es, Rambla de Cataluña) is a major street in the '' Eixample'' district of central Barcelona. It is one of the city's trendiest streets, with many international fashion shops, and is lined with lime trees. The street ...

. The official "front" of the march, with its 25 by 10 metre '' Senyera'' (flag of Catalonia), eventually managed to form at the junction of the Passeig de Gràcia with Carrer d'Aragó , and started moving at around 18:20, albeit moving ''through'' dense crowds. By 19:30, it had only reached the Gran Via , a distance of about 400 metres. The organisers decided to perform the closing act – the singing of '' Els Segadors'' (the Catalan anthem) and the reading of a short manifesto – in a packed Plaça de Tetuan despite the absence of the official "head" of the march, and the demonstration started to disperse at around 20:00. Smaller parallel demonstrations by Catalan nationals living abroad also took place in London, Berlin, Brussels and other places.

Following years

The protest was followed in the succeeding years by the

, the

Catalan Way The Catalan Way ( ca, Via Catalana), also known as the Catalan Way towards Independence ( ca, Via Catalana cap a la Independència), was a human chain in support of Catalan independence from Spain. It was organized by the Assemblea Nacional ...

(2013), the

Catalan Way 2014 The Catalan Way 2014 ( ca, Via Catalana 2014), or "V", was a large gathering in Barcelona on 11 September 2014, the National Day of Catalonia, in support of the Catalan self-determination referendum of 2014 and of Catalan independence from Spa ...

, the

Free Way to the Catalan Republic The Free Way to the Catalan Republic ( ca, Via Lliure a la República Catalana), or Free Way, was a large gathering in Barcelona on 11 September 2015, the National Day of Catalonia, in support of Catalan independence. It was organized by "Now ...

(2015) and

Go ahead, Catalan Republic Go ahead, Catalan Republic or We are ready ( ca, A punt or Endavant república catalana) was a coordinated demonstration that consisted of five large celebrations in Barcelona, Berga, Lleida, Salt and Tarragona on 11 September 2016, the Nation ...

(2016).

References

External links