Tens of Thousands March in Brussels in Support of Catalonia

Tens of thousands of pro-Catalonia demonstrators marched in Brussels Thursday in a show of support for ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, while also calling on the European Union to support its bid for independence from Spain.


Chanting "Wake up, Europe" over 45,000 protesters, many of whom traveled to Belgium from Spain, marched through the European quarter of the Belgian capital, according to police estimates.


Over a month after Catalonia voted for independence from Spain in a referendum, the region, which for years was relatively autonomous, has seen little support from the European Union, which said that the matter should be internally discussed in Spain.


Protesters Thursday also showed their support for ousted leader Carles Puigdemont. Puigdemont along with four former ministers fled to Brussels in November saying they wanted to take their cause to the European level after Madrid charged them with sedition and rebellion.


Puigdemont was expected to address the crowd Thursday.


On Monday, the Spanish government dropped a European arrest warrant for Puigdemont and his four colleagues, but the former president said he would stay in Brussels for now, as the four would still face arrest in Spain should they return for regional polls that Madrid has scheduled for December 21.