Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont called Saturday for peaceful protests against a Spanish government takeover of his ajoyegion following its declaration of independence, deepening a standoff with Madrid.

His call came hours after Madrid asserted direct control over Catalonia, dismissing its most senior police officers and naming Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría as the region's de facto leader.

"It's very clear that the best way to defend gains made until now is democratic opposition to Article 155," said Puigdemont in a recorded video message broadcast on the regional TV3 channel.

Puigdemont, who was fired yesterday after declaring Catalonia's independence, was referring to an article of the Spanish Constitution invoked to justify Madrid's takeover of the region in the name of national unity.

The message was Puigdemont's first public statement since Madrid dissolved the Catalan parliament, fired Puigdemont's cabinet as well as regional police chiefs, and called for an election on December 21.

Friday’s events capped a years-long conflict between Catalonia’s pro-independence camp and Madrid.

Puigdemont's statement showed him speaking from a podium with the Catalan and the European Union flags behind him – and the Spanish flag notably missing. The formal setup suggested that the ousted leader refused to accept his firing.

With major nations quickly backing Madrid, the newly-declared Catalan republic looked set to be short lived.

Yet its proclamation, which occurred in a half-empty parliament following the departure of opposition lawmakers, confronted Spain with the gravest challenge since the return of democracy four decades ago.

Thousands of Catalans took to the streets on Friday to celebrate their parliament’s decision, offering a foretaste of the popular resistance that may test the Spanish government in coming weeks.

Friday’s events capped a years-long conflict between Catalonia’s pro-independence camp and Madrid, which led to the Catalan government holding an independence referendum on October 1, even though the Spanish government and courts declared it to be illegal.

Rajoy’s move to call an early election in December was unexpected — other political parties had said January was the agreed date.

The election poses a difficult dilemma for pro-independence groups: If they take part, they will implicitly be accepting that Madrid’s direct rule is legitimate and therefore going against their own independence declaration. If they boycott, they risk being shut out of political institutions for the next four years.

In the Catalan chamber, 70 of the 135 regional lawmakers backed the resolution that declared “a Catalan Republic as an independent state” and called on the countries of the world to recognize it. “Long live Catalonia!” Puigdemont said afterward to supporters, who sang the Catalan anthem, Els Segadors.

Rajoy, in contrast, spoke of “a sad day where injustice has prevailed over the law” after he announced the urgent government measures late on Friday.

“Spain is a serious country, a great nation, and we won’t allow some people to wipe away our constitution,” he declared earlier in the Senate, which took the unprecedented step of authorizing the central government to take over the running of an autonomous region under Article 155 of the constitution.

EU leaders quickly made clear they did not recognize the Catalan independence declaration. The EU has maintained that Catalonia’s status is an internal matter for the Spanish government, despite misgivings among some leaders about Madrid’s hardline stance in the face of Catalan demands for independence.

"Spain remains our only interlocutor," Tusk tweeted, while also offering some words of caution to Madrid: "I hope the Spanish government favors force of argument, not argument of force."

Major Western countries such as the U.S., Germany, France and Britain also sided with Madrid.