Catalan pro independence mayors hold banners demanding freedom for two leaders of Catalan separatist groups, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, who were detained pending an investigation into sedition charges, as they listen to president Carles Puigdemont (2L) after a session of the Catalan parliament in Barcelona on October 27, 2017. Catalonia's parliament voted to declare independence from Spain and proclaim a republic, just as Madrid is poised to impose direct rule on the region to stop it in its tracks. A motion declaring independence was approved with 70 votes in favour, 10 against and two abstentions, with Catalan opposition MPs walking out of the 135-seat chamber before the vote in protest at a declaration unlikely to be given official recognition. / AFP / Josep LAGO