45,000 Catalans demonstrate in Brussels

brussels - For a demonstration for support to Catalonia, 45,000 people have taken to the streets in Brussels. That is what the Brussels police report. The two pro-independence organizations that arranged the demonstration had counted on 20,000 participants.

The crowds draw noises through the European quarter, with hundreds of yellow-red-blue Catalan flags. The demonstration proceeds calmly according to the police. A large number of participants came with buses from Catalonia. They want to express their support to the deposed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and the other leaders who have been deprived of their duties by the Spanish government, after unilaterally declared independence. New elections will be held in Catalonia in two weeks.

Puigdemont is expected to join the demonstration later. The end is scheduled around 3.30 pm.