Thousands of people demonstrate in defense of Catalan in downtown Barcelona.

BarcelonaAn English tourist watches in surprise as thousands of people shout, "Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, school will be in Catalan." He dares to ask a demonstrator: "Why are you protesting?" "For the language," the demonstrator replies in English. The tourist is even more surprised and asks again: "But isn't Sant Jordi about love?" "About love, and the love of Catalan," the demonstrator declares.

This scene, which took place this Wednesday afternoon on Pelayo Street in Barcelona, ​​​​reflects the spirit of the demonstration that debuted this Sant Jordi: that it should also be a language day. With this desire, thousands of people—2,000 according to the Guardia Urbana and 15,000 according to the organizers—filled the center of the Catalan capital. "Books, roses, and demos" was the call of the organizing entity, Sant Jordi por la Lengua, to encourage people.

Books and roses on the floor was the sad picture of Sant Jordi in 1985. The Civil Guard stormed Rambla de Catalunya with batons to disperse a demonstration in support of the Catalan language. That disproportionate police action marked a before and after, to the point that the Catalan political class, according to leaders of that time, saw that the country needed its own police force. Now, at a time when only 32.6% of Catalans speak Catalan regularly, this new platform has sought to revive the spirit of that Sant Jordi. Protesters who lived through it recall that back then, after the long dictatorship with Catalan ousted, the language was "the priority." "Now we've admitted that we have a problem again," comments Montserrat.

For the organizers, one of the main problems lies within the institutions. After a massive march through the city center, the protest ended in El Born, where they called on the Catalan government to implement "courageous" policies and urged the City Council to promote public services in Catalan. "Today is a historic day for language activism," they celebrated. "The language must not be touched" was one of the main chants of a protest that made its way through the center of Barcelona in a festive atmosphere but with some obstacles, such as two cyclists who came to blows due to traffic conflicts (and whom the City Police had to separate) or a man who came out onto the balcony naked and shouted "Long live Spain".

The organizers' call has been supported by dozens of organizations, including Òmnium Cultural, the Platform for the Language, the ANC (National Association of Workers' Workers), and the Renters' Union. Along these lines, Òmnium's president, Xavier Antich, called this Wednesday for an "active" defense of Catalan for Sant Jordi (Saint George's Day). At the same time, the Roundtable for Independence also held a demonstration in Girona in defense of Catalan.

Catalan, at the center of political debate

In fact, Catalan has been one of the main themes of Sant Jordi 2025. The president of the Generalitat (Catalan regional government), Salvador Illa, has reiterated his support: "We are making new progress in the recognition of Catalan by the European institutions and we will continue to promote its use in all spheres of society," he stated. However, the opposition doesn't quite believe this and is focusing on the Language Pact. Within the framework of the negotiations for this agreement, the organization secretary of Junts (Junts), Judith Toronjo, directly challenged the executive branch to "respond" as to whether they will "defend" the Catalan language "in the face of the imminent court ruling" that could impose a 25% limit on Spanish.

In turn, the president of ERC (Republican Nationalist Party), Oriol Junqueras, has asked the government, political parties, and entities for "commitment" to a National Language Pact that is "as ambitious" as the one the country "needs and deserves." Laure Vega, a CUP member of Parliament, has stated that "unfortunately," her group cannot negotiate the National Pact for the Language because, she said, the Catalan government "abides by unjust laws instead of putting the right to Catalan first." The leader of Comunes (Comuns), Jéssica Albiach, has demanded that the government "be capable of moving" to advance a National Pact that includes all Catalanist forces. Along these lines, Albiach has argued that it is necessary to be prepared for a possible ruling by the Constitutional Court against the Catalan school model and has not ruled out disobedience.

Asked whether his party will join the Pact for the Language, Alejandro Fernández, president of the PP in Catalonia, has warned that Catalan cannot be defended "with impositions."