Catalans protest against mandate for more Spanish in schools

By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Thousands of Catalans have taken to the streets of Barcelona to protest against a court decision that mandates that 25% of all school subjects be taught in Spanish and reduces the still predominant use of the local Catalan language in classrooms. Demonstrators say this would threaten their cherished educational system which has helped bring Catalan back to common use after it had been suppressed during the 20th-century dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco. But families who want their children to receive more learning in Spanish say the current system is violating their rights to study in the nation’s common tongue.