2012 Catalan independence demonstration
| 2012 Catalan independence demonstration | |
|---|---|
View of the demonstration running through Passeig de Gràcia in front of La Unión and el Fénix Building.
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| Date | 11 September 2012 |
| Location |
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain 41°23′07″N 2°10′36″E / 41.3854°N 2.1767°ECoordinates: 41°23′07″N 2°10′36″E / 41.3854°N 2.1767°E |
| Causes | Increase of Catalan independentism boosted by the 2008–13 Spanish financial crisis and the sense among Catalan society that Catalonia overpays the central government in taxes compared with other autonomous communities in Spain and receives very little of that money |
| Goals | Independence of Catalonia |
| Methods | Protest march, street protest |
 Bird's eye view
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The 2012 Catalan independence demonstration was a protest march which occurred in central Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, on 11 September 2012 during the National Day of Catalonia. The protestors demanded the independence of Catalonia and its establishment as a sovereign state under the slogan "Catalonia, new state in Europe" (Catalan: "Catalunya, nou estat d'Europa"). It was organized by the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and headed together with the Association of Municipalities for Independence as the final and the most prominent of a series of events known as "March towards Independence" (Catalan: "Marxa cap a la Independència") which began on 30 June 2012 in Lleida.
The estimated number of participants ranges widely, from 600,000 people quoted by some media, statisticians such as Llorenç Badiella from the Autonomous University of Barcelona or the delegation of the Spanish government in Catalonia to 1.5 million according to Catalan public sources such as Barcelona's Municipal Police or Catalonia's Department of the Interior, with a maximum estimate of about 2 million according to the organizers.
The city centre was crowded for hours and it was feared that the massive influx of people might bring the mobile phone network to a standstill. Many newspapers and other news agencies described it as a "historic" demonstration and considered it to be the biggest protest march ever held in Catalonia since the restoration of democracy in Spain, surpassing other major demonstrations, including the 2010 Catalan autonomy protest.
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Wikipedia