BARCELONA—Wearing face masks, thousands of Catalans on Friday staged dozens of small protests calling for the region’s independence from Spain despite warnings from health officials to avoid gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
All rallies respected social distancing and were peaceful except an unauthorized march in the evening in central Barcelona in which a few hundred separatist protesters, some with torches, burned a mannequin with Spain’s King Felipe’s face and boxes with the logos of Spanish corporations and public institutions.
