Barcelona is at the centre of a political row after 600 singers were expelled from the Sagrada Família during a papal ceremony on 10 June 2026. Junts, ERC and CUP are now asking the Catalan government to explain what happened.
According to the parties, the singers were removed because they were carrying estelades, the Catalan independence flag, and intended to sing Els Segadors, Catalonia’s national anthem. The incident has prompted questions about who took the decision and why.
Mònica Sales, Junts’ president in the Catalan parliament, said her party would submit questions to the executive. She said on social media that it was “urgent to clarify these facts and who made this decision”, and described the situation as “intolerable and very serious”.
Carles Puigdemont also criticised the expulsion, saying the event’s setting and the treatment of the Catalan language should not overshadow what he called the “repressive action” against the singers and citizens displaying estelades. He called for “explanations and accountability”.
Jordi Turull, Junts’ secretary general, described the incident as “shameful” and “one more episode against fundamental rights and freedoms”. ERC’s secretary general, Elisenda Alamany, said her party would seek explanations immediately and questioned why singers were surrounded and expelled for carrying estelades printed on their scores.
The CUP has also filed parliamentary questions. Xavi Pellicer, a CUP deputy, called the episode a “witch hunt against independentists”. Lluc Salellas, the mayor of Girona, compared it with events at the Palau de la Música during a centenary tribute to Joan Maragall. For more Catalonia coverage, see our news page.