French newspaper Le Monde, not at all sympathetic towards the Catalan independence movement, has today been emphatic in saying that the trial in the Supreme Court "is deflating" and that prosecutors are "having trouble proving the charge of rebellion", the most serious facing the defendants.
"These first hearings have shown the fragility of the accusation. Since the trial started, the questions from prosecutors are in fact concentrated especially on the facts which could constitute the crimes of disobedience and a possible misuse of public funds, more than on 'rebellion', the heaviest charge filed, defined in the penal code as a 'violent' uprising against the constitutional order," they write.
They also report that civil society leaders Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez both defended the practice of "pacific civil disobedience" in the trial.