Spain marks national day with show of unity in Catalan crisis

Spain celebrated its national day Thursday with a show of unity in the face of Catalan independence efforts, a day after the central government gave the region's separatist leader a deadline to abandon his secession bid. But events were overshadowed when a Eurofighter jet crashed about 300 kilometres (180 miles) southeast of Madrid while returning to base after taking part in a traditional military display, killing the pilot.
To mark the national holiday, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and King Felipe VI attended the parade in central Madrid as the country undergoes its worst political crisis in a generation. Armed forces marched along Madrid's Paseo de la Castellana boulevard to commemorate the day that Christopher Columbus first arrived in the Americas in 1492.
Separate pro-unity rallies, including one by members of a far-right movement, were organised in the Catalan capital Barcelona. In Madrid, cheering crowds lined the streets, waving red and yellow Spanish flags and some crying "Viva Espana!" as air force jets and helicopters swooped overhead.
Some teenagers climbed trees to get a better look as thousands of troops, vehicles - and even a khaki-capped brown billy goat - paraded through central Madrid. "I love to see people waving our national flag," said Beatriz Trapero, who was watching with her husband. "There used to be a certain shyness in showing it but now it seems not so much."
The largest cheer of the day was reserved for a police car driving the parade route, complete with a sniffer dog riding on the bonnet. Spanish police have come in for international criticism for their violent conduct during a banned October 1 referendum that saw Catalan voters opt to split from Spain.
Rajoy's government says it is ready to take control of the region after Catalan president Carles Puigdemont's announcement Tuesday that he accepted a mandate for "Catalonia to become an independent state." Rajoy responded that Puigdemont had until next Monday to decide if he planned to push ahead with secession and then until next Thursday to reconsider, otherwise Madrid would trigger constitutional steps that could suspend Catalonia's regional autonomy.