Barcelona: Referendum protests after police raids

Police searches in the Catalan capital, Barcelona, sparked a pro-independence mass street protest on Wednesday.

The Spanish authorities have tried to stop the planned referendum vote in October, which they see as illegal, by seizing voting materials.

Around 40,000 people blocked the entrance to the Catalan economy ministry. The building had been raided, along with other regional government offices, by national police earlier in the day.

The BBC spoke to some of the people demonstrating about why they have taken to the streets.