Mass protest in Madrid against amnesty for Catalan separatists

Tens of thousands of demonstrators came onto the streets of Madrid on Sunday in response to a call by Spain's conservative opposition to protest at plans to grant amnesty to leaders of the Catalan separatist movement.

Police put the numbers on Plaza de España at 45,000, while the conservative People's Party (PP) led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo claimed that 70,000 had turned out.

Amnesty legislation put forward by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, head of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), has cleared the initial hurdles in parliament. Several months are expected to elapse before the measure becomes law.

Most Spaniards were opposed to the measure, Feijóo said. The PP aimed to save democracy through its opposition, he said.

"Nobody will force a country on us that we have not voted for," he called out to the crowd, who chanted: "Sánchez traitor," "Sánchez to prison" and "No to amnesty."

Sánchez pledged the amnesty and made other concessions to the separatists in exchange for their support in a vote in parliament in mid-November that allowed him to form a government following a snap election in July.

While the PP came out on top in the election, it was unable to secure a majority in parliament, leaving the way clear for Sánchez to continue in office.

The liberal Junts party of separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, who lives in exile in Belgium after a failed attempt for Catalonia to separate in the autumn of 2017, and the leftist ERC both back a Catalan independence.

Sánchez is pursuing a policy aimed at preventing this by de-escalating the conflict by dialogue and concessions.