Marta Poblet and Pompeu Casanovas

Catalans march though the streets of Barcelona demanding independence. Maria Poblet

In the biggest rally for Catalan independence ever, an estimated crowd of 1.5 million people flooded the city of Barcelona with red-and-yellow striped flags on Catalonia’s national day, the Diada.

Tax laws and lack of financial autonomy have brought Catalan’s disaffection towards the Spanish government to its fullest. And yet, the slogan of the march echoed a unionist aspiration “Catalonia, a new European state”. With the prospect of an economic collapse looming large, the debate over a new hypothetical membership is quickly trespassing national borders.

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