Around 45,000 protesters have taken to the streets outside EU institutions in Brussels in support of Catalan independence.

The demonstration is partly in solidarity with exiled and disputed president Carles Puigdemont, who has himself fled to the EU capital in Belgium and is resisting extradition attempts.

But the Thursday march is also aimed at putting pressure on EU institutions to support the region’s cause – support which has so far been totally absent.

Police figures suggest the protest was over twice as large as expected, with official predictions before the march that just 20,000 demonstrators would show up.

In the grey and damp Belgian weather, demonstrators carried Catalan flags, sang songs, and chanted “Wake up Europe”. Others carried banners with EU flags emblazoned with “Shame on you” – a criticism of the EU’s support for the government in Madrid.

Some locals who joined the march also carried the yellow lion rampant flags of Flanders, the wealthy Dutch-speaking region of Belgium. Flanders, like Catalonia, has a separatist movement and its separatist parties are allies at the European level with Catalonia’s.

That alliance led to one Flemish immigration minister suggesting Mr Puigdemont could apply for asylum in Belgium – though he has not formally taken up the offer.

More protesters descend on EU institutions (Jon Stone/The Independent) (Jon Stone for The Independent)

The protest was overwhelmingly peaceful, with families with children present in large numbers. Helicopters could be seen and heard overhead along the route of the march.

Belgian police were joined by soldiers with assault rifles – a common sight on the streets of Brussels in light of recent terrorist attacks – to guard the route of the march, which gathered at a large park near the Berlaymont building, the headquarters of the European Commission, before snaking through the capital.

A large proportion of the protesters arrived by chartered coach, taking the 12-hour drive through France from Catalonia.

The demonstration is the first show of force by Catalan independence supporters in Brussels, where small pro-Madrid demonstrations have been a common feature of Mr Puigdemont’s public appearances.

The European Commission has so far said it supports Spain’s constitution; it has not offered to mediate the dispute.

A European arrest warrant sought by the Spanish government was cancelled by a Spanish judge earlier this week after he ruled that Mr Puigdemont was not applicable for one.

The disputed regional president has said he will stay in Belgium until at least the 21 December Catalan elections, called by Madrid after the central government suspended home rule in the region.

Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Show all 17 1 /17 Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man faces off Spanish Civil Guards outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police form a security cordon around the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police evict a young woman during clashes between people gathered outside the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Spanish Civil Guard officers break through a door at a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Spanish National Police clash with pro-referendum supporters in Barcelona on Sunday AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Crowds raise their arms up as police move in on members of the public gathered outside to prevent them from voting in the referendum at a polling station where the President Carles Puigdemunt will vote later today Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters People confront Spanish Civil Guard officers outside a polling station Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Three man hold each other as they try to block a Spanish police van from approaching a polling station AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A woman shows a ballot to a Spanish Civil Guard officer outside a polling station Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man wearing a shirt with an Estelada (Catalan separatist flag) and holding carnations faces off with a Spanish Civil Guard officer Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Police try to control the area as people attempt to cast their ballot at a polling station in Barcelona Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man is grabbed by officers as police move in on the crowds Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Two women argue with a Spanish National policeman during clashes between Catalan pro-independence people and police forces at the Sant Julia de Ramis sports centre in Girona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Sant Julia De Ramis in Spain Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Confrontation outside a polling station in Barcelona, where police have tried to stop people voting AFP/Getty Images Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A Spanish National Police officer aims a rubber-bullet rifle at pro-referendum supporters in Barcelona AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police clashed with voters as polls opened in Barcelona Sky News

He and other members of his former government are facing charges of sedition, rebellion, and misuse of public funds relating to their calling of an independence referendum on 1 October and a later unilateral declaration of independence by the Catalan parliament. Some ministers have returned to Spain to face their charges, while a core remain with him in Brussels.