2017 Catalan general strike

Catalan separatists, labor unions, and cultural groups held a general strike for 3 October 2017 following Catalonia's referendum on independence two days earlier. The referendum, which was held in defiance of Spanish national court orders, was subject to violent crackdowns in which the Spanish military police attempted to prevent Catalans from voting, which injured over 900 people and led to separatist support for a general strike. Smaller unions had initially planned the strike in advance of the referendum, but the police violence led to widespread support, including that of the Catalan government, Spain's two major labor unions, and pro-independence groups. At the time of the strike, Catalonia represented a fifth of the Spanish gross domestic product, comparable in size to the Chilean economy.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators participated in the strike, including 700,000 in Barcelona, according to the city's police. Farmers, dockworkers, and firefighters demonstrated. Spanish police and government sites were focal sites of protests in and out of Barcelona. Public transportation and port activity were suspended, university classes canceled, and businesses small and large closed. Some protesters wore Catalan separatist flags.

Immediate effects of the strike included an emergency meeting called by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, and a rare, televised address by Spanish King Felipe VI, in which he forcefully condemned Catalan leaders for disloyalty and did not mention police violence during the referendum. Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont announced that the government would declare independence unilaterally within a week of the result. Another union called for a follow-up general strike a week later, from 10 to 16 October, pending government response, but the 3 October organizers have not announced whether they will participate.

Catalonia held a contentious referendum on its independence from Spain on Sunday, 1 October 2017, against orders from the Spanish central government. The national police enforcement attempted to prevent Catalans from voting in some locations with violent crackdowns, resulting in about 900 people injured and separatist calls for a general strike. By the time of the strike, the Catalan government was awaiting final results before taking action on what they earlier announced as 90 percent support from about 2.3 million voters. But the legitimacy of even official results was likely to be disputed for reasons of turnout, voter rolls, and independent confirmation.Sky News described the events as Spain's largest political crisis since its 1930s civil war.

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