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The Civil Guard bursting into weekly newspaper El Vallenc looking for material related to the 1st October referendum has prompted all kinds of jokes on social media. One of the most repeated was the cry "On són les paperetes?" (Where are the voting slips?), also used by the protesters outside the newspaper's offices in Valls, west of Barcelona.

One person to use the phrase was the journalist and writer Pilar Rahola, who also tweeted a video of the protest.

ERC (Catalan Republican Left) politician Gabriel Rufián wrote "Ballot boxes or tricorns. Long live the brave people". A distinctive variant of the tricorn is the formal hat of the Spanish Civil Guard.

Private individual have also joked about the topic, many using memes, contributing to stirring the pot.

Translation: It seems to me that, before the 1st October referendum in Catalonia, they won't find where the ballot boxes and papers are. Shall we give them a clue? 

Translator's note: The four joke options suggested by this user for the location of the ballot papers are 1.The monastery of Sixena [sic], 2. At Hernández's house, 3. In Salvador Dalí's tomb, 4. Under the sofa. The first three are satirical references to other Catalan news stories.