Spain has seized back control of Catalonia, in a move the sacked deputy leader of the Catalan region branded a “coup d’etat”.
Figures on both sides of the crisis have dug in amid escalating tensions, with supporters of both Spanish unity and Catalan independence promising to “die” for the cause.
At a Spanish unity rally in Barcelona yesterday, supporters vowed to back the country’s national police force “to the death”.
One supporter of the Spanish state told reporters: “We have to defend Spain till we die.”
They have also urged the national police force to arrest and jail the separatist leader Carles Puigdemont.
Spain’s prime minister Mariano Rajoy formally stripped Catalonia of its autonomy yesterday – and called fresh regional elections for December.
In response, with a pre-recorded message yesterday, Catalonia’s sacked president Mr Puigdemont vowed to resist Madrid’s attempts to seize control
It remains to be seen whether officials in the Catalan civil service will accept the government’s attempt to impose will.
Activists close to the Catalan president have said they will form human chains around government buildings if the Spanish state tries to seize control of them.
The Catalan National Assembly, the main separatist group, have also urged the region’s 200,000 civil servants not to follow orders from Spain.
One member of a left-wing separatist group said violence would break out if the government used force in Catalonia.
He said: “What are they going to do – kill all of us?
“If the Spanish police start to fight us it will be our victory, although no one wants this violence.”
One fireman at the rally in support of independence said: “We have to resist”.
Montse Abelló, 85, who lived under the brutality of Franco’s, feared the onset of imminent violence.
He said: “Madrid has humiliated us. I do not think we face another war but I fear we are going to suffer again.”