
Thousands of protesters packed Madrid today in a fierce backlash against Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his planned talks with Catalan separatists.

Demonstrators waving Spanish flags filled the Plaza de Colon in the city centre in the largest protest Sanchez has faced since taking office last year.

Some 45,000 people turned out in a show of force against the Socialist leader, demanding new elections and chanting: 'Spain! Spain!' and 'We want to vote!'

Sanchez, who relies on backing from Catalan nationalists and other minority parties to stay in power, plans to appoint an intermediary to resolve the dispute but was accused of 'treason' and caving in to the nationalists.

Mass protests: Demonstrators waving Spanish flags gather in the Plaza de Colon in central Madrid on Sunday in a show of force against Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez who has offered talks with Catalan separatists

Flag and country: A woman holds up a red-and-yellow Spanish flag in central Madrid, organised by opposition parties, after Sanchez drew fierce criticism for his plans to appoint an intermediary to resolve the Catalan dispute

Sea of red and yellow: People wave Spanish flags in a protest against Sanchez, who has been accused of caving in to Catalan nationalists

Recent polls have shown the conservative Popular Party, center-right Ciudadanos and far-right Vox could together win a majority of seats in parliament if elections were held, allowing them to replace the Socialist government.

'The time of Sanchez's government has ended,' Popular Party leader Pablo Casado told reporters before the protest.

Some banners at the rally read 'Sanchez, liar' and 'Spain is not negotiable and cannot be sold'.

Sanchez is also under pressure from Catalan nationalists, who want a legally valid referendum on independence which Madrid has refused to allow.

Ana Puente, a 73 year-old retiree who attended the gathering, said she was protesting for a 'united Spain'.

'The government is giving many things to supporters of Catalan independence and is going to break Spain apart,' said Raquel Garcia, 76, who was carrying a Spanish flag.

Demonstration: People surround a fountain in Plaza de Colon in Madrid, in a 45,000-strong protest against Pedro Sanchez

Opposition: Pablo Casado, president of the conservative opposition People's Party, gives a speech during the Madrid demonstration on Sunday. He said 'the time of Sanchez's government has ended'

Target: Right-wing protesters hold a sign with a picture of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez calling for elections and calling the Socialist leader a 'liar' and 'impostor'

Flag and hat: A man with a Spanish emblem and matching headgear walks by bushes during the mass protests in Madrid

Sanchez told a separate rally in the city of Santander: 'The government works for the unity of Spain and that means to unify Spaniards and not to put one against the other as the right is doing today in Colon square.'

The protest took place two days before the start of the trial of 12 Catalan independence leaders, who face up to 25 years in prison for their role in 2017's failed secession bid from Spain.

A referendum in October that year was declared invalid by Madrid and separatist leader Carles Puigdemont fled into exile in Brussels.

The government faces a key vote on Wednesday on its 2019 budget proposal, which will likely fail without the support of Catalan parties.

But those parties have said their vote for the budget is conditional on the Catalan talks including the issue of independence, something the government will not include.

Failure by parliament to approve the budget bill could prompt a snap election before the next scheduled vote in 2020.

Clad in the flag: Protesters wrap the Spanish flag around them in a protest against Sanchez's moves on establishing a dialogue with the separatist political parties in Catalonia

A man walks with a Spanish flag sticking out of his coat in the protests against Pedro Sanchez's government in Madrid

Show of force: People wave flags on a street in Madrid in the latest development in the long-running Catalonia crisis

Filling the streets: Thousands of flag-waving demonstrators pack a city centre road during Sunday's mass protests in Madrid

Santiago Abascal, leader of the right-wing Vox party which has recently emerged as a presence in Spanish politics, delivers a speech during the Sunday demonstration in Madrid