The center-right pro-union Ciudadanos Party, which was born out of opposition to Catalan separatism, holds a rally in front of Catalonia’s regional government headquarters in Barcelona run under the slogan “That’s enough! Justice and coexistence.”

Ahead of next month’s general elections, Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faced sharp criticism Sunday for his handling of violent Catalan separatist protests even as calm returned to Barcelona and other cities.

Hundreds of people packed a square in front of Catalonia’s regional government headquarters in Barcelona for a rally by the center-right party Ciudadanos to demand that order be restored. They also called on the government in Madrid to defend the rights of Catalans who oppose independence.

Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera repeated a call for Sanchez to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy, as Madrid did in 2017 after the Catalan parliament declared independence following a banned referendum. Rivera also urged Sanchez to get rid of Quim Torra, the head of Catalonia’s separatist regional government.

(Source: AFP)