"One part of the government, led by me as the legitimate president, has come to Brussels," Carles Puigdemont said. (Photo: Thierry Monasse)

Puigdemont claims to be Catalan 'president' from Brussels

EU Political

by Eric Maurice and Helena Spongenberg, Brussels and Barcelona,

[Updated at 8.15 on 1 November] Ex-Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont reappeared in public in Brussels on Tuesday (31 October), where he said he would continue to lead a government despite being dismissed by the Spanish government.

"One part of the government, led by me as the legitimate president, has come to Brussels in order to explain the Catalan problem in the institutional heart of Europe," he told a crowd of reporters packed into the Press Club, in the heart of the EU quarter.

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