MORE than 100,000 took to the streets of Catalonia on Saturday for an independence rally ahead of talks with the Spanish government planned for later this week.

Police figures put the total participants at 108,000 while organisers Assemblea Nacional Catalana (ANC) claimed as many as 400,000 supporters attended the rally.

It was the first such demonstration to take place since June, when the nine Catalan leaders who had been jailed for their role in a 2017 independence referendum were pardoned.

The march in Barcelona celebrated Diada, Catalonia’s national day, which marks the fall of the city in the 1714 War of the Spanish Succession.

“For the first time in four years, nine very special people have participated in La Diada again. The political prisoners are back on the streets,” ANC spokeswoman Elisenda Paluzie said.

Talks will take place this week between Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s minority government and Catalonia’s regional government.

Mr Sanchez said that he hoped “to advance towards what unites us” and “work for a positive outcome for the region.”

Madrid remains opposed to the Catalan leaders’ demands for a referendum on self-determination.