2012 Catalan independence demonstration
The 2012 Catalan independence demonstration was a protest 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 its establishment as a sovereign state under the slogan "Catalonia, new state in Europe" (Catalan: "Catalunya, nou estat d'Europa"). It was organized by the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and headed together with the Association of Municipalities for Independence as the most prominent of a series of events known as "March towards Independence" (Catalan: "Marxa cap a la Independència") which began on 30 June 2012 in Lleida.
| 2012 Catalan independence demonstration | |
|---|---|
View of the demonstration running through Passeig de Gràcia in front of La Unión and el Fénix Building. | |
| Date | 11 September 2012 |
| Location | Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain 41.3854°N 2.1767°E |
| Caused by | Increase of Catalan independentism boosted by the Spanish Constitutional Court banning some articles of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia in 2010 and the 2008–13 Spanish financial crisis |
| Goals | Independence of Catalonia |
| Methods | Protest march, street protest |
The estimated number of participants ranges widely, from 600,000 people quoted by some media, statisticians such as Llorenç Badiella from the Autonomous University of Barcelona or the delegation of the Spanish government in Catalonia to 1.5 million according to Catalan public sources such as Barcelona's Municipal Police or Catalonia's Department of the Interior, with a maximum estimate of about 2 million according to the organizers.
The city centre was crowded for hours and it was feared that the massive influx of people was going to bring mobile phone networks to a standstill. Many newspapers and other news agencies described it as a "historic" demonstration and considered it to be the biggest protest march ever held in Catalonia since the restoration of democracy in Spain, surpassing other major demonstrations, including the 2010 Catalan autonomy protest.