Catalonia independence referendum protests see Barcelona police scrambled amid clampdown on ‘illegal’ referendum
Catalan nationalists are attempting to press ahead with tomorrow's “illegal” independence referendum despite Spanish cops trying to stop the election
NATIONAL police have scrambled to Barcelona as thousands of people protest on the eve of the "illegal" Catalonia independence referendum.
Thousands of Catalans are banging saucepans in noisy protest, or "cassolada", in protest after Spanish police detained 13 Catalan government officials in a crackdown ahead of the vote.
Also in the city a huge crowd of anti-Catalonia independence campaigners packed out a square in front of Barcelona city hall, where they are holding a Spanish unity demonstration. Demonstrators scaled the City Hall building and ripped a banner reading "Més democràcia", "More democracy", during the demo.
Catalan nationalists are attempting to press ahead with the “illegal” independence referendum despite Spanish cops trying to stop the election.
Spain insists "there is no referendum" after pulling plug on vote systems. Spain's foreign minister Alfonso Dastis told Sky News there are "no voting premises, no ballot papers... no authorities to check the authenticity of the result".
He added that authorities were having to deal with "intimidation and harassment"; from vote supporters, and police would act proportionally tomorrow.
Separatists have occupied dozens of schools designated as polling stations to stop police from closing them down.
And tonight Basque firefighters travelled to the Catalan city to help.
It is still unclear if police will forcibly remove people who are still in the polling stations at a 6am Sunday deadline and how many of voters will be able to cast ballots.
The referendum is one of the biggest crises to hit Spain since democracy was restored after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
Also unknown is what happens next if regional leaders declare any vote legitimate and Catalonia declares independence.
The referendum was suspended under constitutional rules weeks ago so a court could consider its legality.
Catalan authorities have pledged to make the voting possible even if police, acting on judges' orders, manage to close polling stations and seal off ballot boxes.
Some 5.3 million people are eligible to vote in the region, one of 17 in Spain.
It has also sown divisions among Catalans themselves, with the region deeply split on independence, even if a large majority want to be allowed to settle the matter in a legal vote.
The latest surge for independence essentially started in 2010, when Spain's Constitutional Court struck down key parts of a ground-breaking charter.
That legislation would have granted Catalonia greater autonomy and recognized it as a nation within Spain.
The rejection stung, and Spain's 2008-2013 financial crisis and the harsh austerity measures that followed generated more support for secession, with many Catalans feeling they could do better on their own.
Catalonia contributes a fifth of the country's 1.1 trillion-euro economy.
While the vast majority of Catalans favour holding a referendum, they have long been almost evenly split over independence.
If "yes" wins, Catalan authorities have promised to declare independence within 48 hours.
No minimum participation rate has been set, but regional President Carles Puigdemont has acknowledged that a significant turnout will be needed to declare the results legitimate.
In a mock referendum in 2014, only about 35 percent of Catalans voted but 80 per cent favoured independence.
Officials say the Spanish crackdown could make the difference this time.
Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras said six out of 10 Catalans were expected to vote, according to the regional government's polling.
Nou Barris, in the south of Barcelona, showed the least support among the Catalan capital’s neighbourhoods for separatist parties in regional elections two years ago.
In balconies and windows, there are few of the pro-independence flags ubiquitous in other central and wealthier areas of Barcelona.
The Spanish government says the vote, which has been ordered suspended by the Constitutional Court, will not take place.
It has called in thousands of police reinforcements that are being housed in ferries in Barcelona's port, raising tensions in one of Europe's most popular tourist destinations.
The government has also initiated a barrage of legal challenges, including placing 700 pro-independence mayors under investigation and briefly arresting a dozen or so government officials.
"These are not easy days, for sure, but we feel strong," Puigdemont said recently.
"While Spain acts like a regime where the authority of power grows inversely to its moral strength, we feel increasingly supported by the Catalan people's greatest asset: its people."
But it's hard to see how a vote will take place when millions of ballot papers were seized and police have been ordered to make sure no polling centre stays open.
There is no electoral board to monitor the election, but Catalan authorities say votes will be counted.
On Friday, tractors paraded through Barcelona, some decked with the "Estelada", the separatists' flag of red-and-yellow stripes with a white star on a blue chevron.
They and firefighters have vowed to protect polling stations.
Over at the anti-independence rally, people wave Spanish and EU flags, as well as the "Senyera" - the official Catalan flag of plain red-and-yellow stripes.
Madrid has repeatedly warned those who help stage the referendum that they face repercussions.
On Friday, Spain's education ministry said in a statement that head teachers in Catalonia "were not exempt from liability" if they cooperated.
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