#catalonia

#catalonia

If you were anywhere near Barcelona at 10 a.m. on Monday, November 3, you probably jumped out of your skin when your phone suddenly started buzzing. You weren't alone. More than five million mobile phones across Catalonia received the same loud, startling message - a mass emergency alert test carried out by the Generalitat's Civil Protection department ( Protecció Civil). The alert, part of Spain's ES-Alert public warning system, reached people in Barcelonès, Baix Llobregat, Maresme, Vallès Occidental and Vallès Oriental, making it the largest drill ever conducted by the Catalan government. Even those just passing through on a motorway or train heard their devices blare the familiar emergency tone.

Esteve Fernández, the region's health secretary, has made it clear he wants a national law that bans smoking on the beach, full stop. He's hoping Spain's new tobacco law will stamp out cigarettes on every stretch of sand as well.

The proposed law would require foreign residents to obtain a permit to purchase property in Catalonia if they haven't legally resided in Spain for five years.