Catalan leaders said on Friday they would not be deterred by the attack at Barcelona, but would press on with plans for an independence referendum.
Catalan's regional head, Carles Puigdemont dismissed calls for Catalan parties to 'return to reality', stating, the "roadmap" to independence would "not be derailed".
"Mixing up our priority now, which is to respond to the terrorist threat and attend to victims, with anything seems just vile to me," Mr Puigdemont was quoted by Reuters as saying.
"We're not the only, or the first, city in Europe where there has been a massacre like this."
Thousands of Catalans gathered at Placa de Catalunya on Friday holding their national flag to observe a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the Les Ramblas attack.
