Thousands of students have protested around Catalonia today on a second day of school walkouts protesting the Supreme Court's decision in the Catalan trial announced on Monday. In Barcelona alone, at least 25,000 young people took to the streets. The students, from both schools and universities, marched from plaça Universitat to plaça Sant Jaume. The demonstration ended there, outside the Catalan government palace and Barcelona city hall, with the reading of a manifesto and a call to join this Friday's strike.
Students today on Via Laietana / Sergi Alcàzar
The protest, called by students unions Sindicat d'Estudiants and Sindicat d'Estudiants dels Països Catalans, comes on the second of the three days of student strikes called for this week. Among the chants heard today were "independence", "release political prisoners" and "I would imprison the monarchy".
Video: Marc Ortín
In plaça Catalunya, a man appeared carrying a pro-monarchy sign and a Spanish flag, playing the Spanish anthem. Mossos d'Esquadra Catalan police officers escorted him out of the demonstration, which continued on its way.
Video: Marc Ortín
Quan han passat per davant de Direcció Superior de Policia s'han viscut llançaments d'objectes per part dels manifestants als Mossos i a la policia espanyola que estaven a banda i banda de l'edifici.
Mossos outside a police station / Marc Ortín
Besides the sentences, the unions denounced the actions by the Mossos this week, called for Catalan interior minister Miquel Buch to resign and, in the case of SEPC, the rest of the Catalan cabinet too.
Video: Marc Ortín
Lleida
In Lleida, in the west of Catalonia, some 700 students took to the streets in their own protest. The march started at 12pm from the University of Lleida's Rector's Office, which students have been occupying since Monday.
The young people filled rambla d'Aragó heading to the local offices of the Catalan education ministry, hanging a banner from its façade. They then returned to rambla d'Aragó and onwards to where it meets carrer Lluís Companys, where they sat down outside the building of the Spanish government's delegation to the province. There, a manifesto was read before the rally ended at half past one.
Photo: ACN
Girona
In Girona, in the north of Catalonia, more than 4,000 students attended the day's protest organised by SEPC, the majority of whom were secondary school students.
Starting at 11:30am outside the building of the Spanish government's delegation to the province, they shouted that they would take down the Spanish flag. They then walked up Gran Via de Jaume I to plaça de la Independència (lit. Independence Square), via plaça de l'1 d'octubre de 2017 (named after the date of the independence referendum).
A group of university students, meanwhile, occupied the courtyard of the Rector's Office at the University of Girona to call on the rector, Quim Salvi, to cancel all activities that counts for credits or grades this week, not just "urge" his professors to do so.
Photo: ACN
Tarragona
As for Tarragona, in the south, 600 students, according to the Urban Guard, gathered in plaça Imperial Tàrraco before walking down Rambla Nova to the Mediterranean Balcony viewpoint and back. No incidents were reported. The students shouted anti-fascist slogans, as well as others in favour of the prisoners' release and opposing the police forces' actions over the last few days.
Back in plaça Imperial Tàrraco, the demonstration ended with a manifesto being read. Afterwards, some of those present went on to block the A-7 motorway.
Photo: ACN