Catalonians hold mass demonstration demanding independence from Spain

But the tradition may be coming to an end: because, for the first time, there is a real prospect of their demands being met.

“This, we hope, will be the last demo on this topic,” said Liz Castro, of the grassroots organisation behind the march, the Catalan National Assembly. “We are not burning anything or turning over cars. We are joyfully demonstrating for the right to decide in a peaceful way.”

“This we hope will be the last demo on this topic.”

Her group has been organising these marches since 2012. From a tiny grassroots organisation, it has grown in to the popular force many think has pushed mainstream Catalan politicians further towards greater autonomy or full independence statehood for the nation.

So, now, having shown the their sheer strength of numbers on the streets before Catalan independentistas aim to make themselves count at the ballot box too.

In just two weeks this stateless nation will hold parliamentary elections that amount to a proxy plebiscite.

Barred by authorities in Madrid from running a Scottish-style vote, a newly forged alliance of pro-independence Catalans hopes a simple majority will be enough to launch a bid for sovereignty.

Polls suggest that they are on track to take 68 of the 135 seats in the Catalan Assembly. But only just - and with just 44 per cent of the popular vote. Catalunya is as split as Scotland on independence and devolution in all its shades and nuances.

Now, for the first time in the nation’s history a whole gamma of parties and movements have form a single slate, Junts per Si, Together for Yes. They are effectively led by current President Artur Mas.

But in a clear sign that this one list is not a vehicle for his centrist party, Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya or CDC, Mr Mas does not top any of the four regional lists.

In Barcelona, the list even includes Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola. This is an effort to create as broad a front as possible.

In Girona, the top of the slate is occupied by Lluis Llach, the legendary musician whose protest song L’Estaca became the anthem of freedom movements against dictatorships in both Spain and Czechoslovakia.

Junts per Si - with Catalan nationalists facing the same kind of “Nazi” slurs as Scottish ones - has moved to demonstrate the same kind of broad front shown by La Diada marches.

There is room for groups of Spanish speakers who support independence. Formal SNP allies, the social democratic, Esquerra Republicana are sharing the platform. The more radical left party CUP is not - but supports independence. A poll on Friday morning suggested Junts pel Si and CUP, together, could win a majority of seats but not a plurality of votes.

Lined up against this slate - and Diada marchers - is a series of diverse forces that want to hold the Spanish state together, and not always by the kind of democratic means chosen by, say, David Cameron.

Spanish Conservatives - the Partido Popular - are recovering the polls across Spain after a well in support for anti-establishment parties, including the leftist Podemos.

But Spain’s ruling PP  is heading to get fewer than one in 10 votes in Catalunya, polls suggest.

The control the “national’ government in Spain, a state that, despite decades of post-dictatorship asymmetrical devolution, does not quite think of itself as multi-national. It is this now relatively weak Madrid establishment that blocked a Scottish-style vote. But opposition to independence does not just come from Madrid.

The most recent poll of Catalans puts support for a new Spain, one where regions would have the right to secede, at around 46 per cent. That number, stressed Michael Keating, of the Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh, is significant. Because it suggests that there is not an outright majority for independence - yet.

Mr Keating said: "If there is a majority of seats it is incumbent on the Spanish government to respond. But without a majority of votes, it would be difficult to claim legitimacy for international recognition.'
Mr Mas had hoped for a more resounding vote of confidence in the elections, dubbed 27-S for short.

Strong anti-independence and anti-devolution sentiment - there are some in Catalunya and Spain seeking a stronger centre - has driven up support for a new party, Ciutatans, now the second force in parliament after winning many of the votes that used to go to the Catalan wing of Spain’s Socialist Party. Ciutatans will effectively remain the main opposition, as politicians re-align  on constitutional lines rather than on the old left-right spectrum.

Ironically, Catalan independentistas believe they can gain from Madrid’s rhetoric. Every time a PP leader hints at a robust - even a military - response to events here, support for independence rises. Because the movement in Catalunya has grown from the streets - and the streets don’t like swaggering Madrid politicians telling them that they are not a country and do not have the right to decide their future in a Scottish-style vote.

SNP MP Natalie McGarry, a keen Catalan watcher, said: “The difference between Scotland and Catalonia is that the grassroots are driving the process and this is now acknowledged by the politicians. They have had to play catch-up with the people.”

Spanish unionists have access to the media, especially Spanish language media and old political organisations. But their grassroots are undeveloped.