Catalan spperatists protest outside European Parliament Thousands of Catalans protest outside of the European Parliament in Strasbourg in support of the three separatists elected as MEPs at the end of May but who are blocked by Madrid from taking office. In Those refused seats include Carles Puigdemont, the former head of the Catalan regional government who lives in Belgium to escape a Spanish arrest warrant after leading an attempted secession in 2017. IMAGES