Lakhs of people come out on streets of capital to protest against Independence of Catalonia

In Spain, hundreds of thousands of supporters of a unified nation filled Barcelona's streets yesterday in one of the biggest shows of force as regional political leaders push for Catalan independence.

Political parties opposing a split by Catalonia from Spain had a small lead in an opinion poll published yesterday, the first since Madrid called a regional election to try to resolve the country's worst political crisis in four decades.

Spain's central government called an



election for December 21 after sacking Catalonia's president Carles Puigdemont, dissolving its parliament and dismissing its government.At the rally, former European Parliament president Josep Borrell called for unionist voters to turn out in December to ensure independence supporters lose their stranglehold on the regional parliament.

European countries, the United States and Mexico have also rejected the Catalan declaration of independence and expressed support for Spain's unity.