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20 May 2011

Now showing live, protests in Madrid

“We don’t have a house, we live in the square.”

By Alice Gribbin

There has been little coverage of the ongoing protests over here, but the Spanish continue to camp out and congregate in city squares around the country. The newly imposed ban on demonstrations in the lead-up to Sunday’s election appears to have done nothing to deter those who have been gathering since last Sunday, mainly during the evenings, in their tens of thousands.

A common chant goes, “We don’t have a house, we live in the square” – this in a country where five million are out of work and 45 per cent of the under-30s are unemployed.

Spaniards in the UK, too, have been vocal. Hundreds have gathered outside the embassy in London since Wednesday and will continue to do so throughout the weekend.

But rather than read about it, the best way to follow this movement may be from its very epicentre, Madrid’s Puerta del Sol. Follow it live here.

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