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Hundreds of thousands of people came out in Barcelona on Sunday to protest against Ctalonia's secession from Spain.

This goes a long way in showing just how divided the autonomous region has become over whether to separate from Spain or remain.

A crowd estimated by local police to number 350,000 waved Spanish and Catalan flags and carried banners saying "Catalonia is Spain" and "Together we are stronger". They poured into the city center after politicians on both sides hardened their positions in the country's worst political crisis for decades.

Although the Catalan government are of the opinion that over 90% of voters voted in favour of independence, opinion polls and analysts are of the the opinion that this may not be the case as only 43% of registered voters turned up for the referendum.

"We feel both Catalan and Spanish," Araceli Ponze, 72, said during Sunday's rally. "We are facing a tremendous unknown. We will see what happens this week but we have to speak out very loudly so they know what we want."

This protest is likely to add to the already mounting pressure on Catalan President Carles Puigdemont who is already facing an uphill battle to declare Catalonia's independence and secession from Spain.