Catalan Separatists Plot Show of Force in Battle With Madrid

The movement will stage its annual demonstrations on Catalan National Day, a holiday in the region, with parades along four of the main avenues in the regional capital Barcelona as well as speeches and concerts. More than 390,000 people had registered to take part as of Sunday.

Separatist leaders are trying to show Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy the scale of the backlash he risks if he uses force to shut down their preparations for an Oct. 1 ballot. Faced with the biggest constitutional crisis since the 1981 coup, Rajoy is hesitating to use the most drastic tools at his disposal, wary of the reaction on the streets, even as he refuses to engage with the separatists. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont is warning voters and investors to prepare for a disorderly breakup of the Spanish state.