Catalan President Quim Torra called for talks between the Catalan independence movement and the Spanish government, adding that violence had never been the "flag" of the independence movement. The head of the Spanish Government, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, refused to hold talks with the Catalan government, as it deemed the former had not condemned the violence strongly enough. He further categorically rejected the idea of discussing Catalan Independence, stating that it was impossible under Spanish law. 2021 election In the 2021 regional election, which saw a low turnout due to the COVID-19 pandemic, pro-independence parties won over 50% of the popular vote for the first time, and increased their representation in the parliament from 70 to 74 seats. In June 2021, the nine activists who had been jailed in 2019 were released, having been pardoned by King Felipe VI on the advice of Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez. Support for independence Recent pro-independence vote evolution Catalan regional elections, consultation and independence referendum The parties explicitly campaigning for independence currently represented in the Catalan Parliament are the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC); the Junts per Catalunya coalition (composed of Crida Nacional per la República, Acció per la República, Els Verds–Alternativa Verda, and splinter elements from the PDeCAT); and the Candidatura d'Unitat Popular (CUP). They obtained 33, 32 and 9 seats, respectively, in the 2021 regional election (a total of 74 out of 135 seats). Including those who won no seats, pro-independence parties had an overall share of 51.3% of the popular vote. Other smaller pro-independence parties or coalitions, without present representation in any parliament, are PDeCAT (formerly called CDC), Catalan Solidarity for Independence, Estat Català, Endavant, PSAN, Poble Lliure and Reagrupament. There are also youth organisations such as Young Republican Left of Catalonia, Arran, and the student unions SEPC and FNEC. Spanish general elections in Catalonia Elections to the European Parliament in Catalonia Unofficial consultations and referendums Others From around 2010, support for Catalan independence broadened from being the preserve of traditional left or far-left Catalan nationalism. Relevant examples are the liberal economists Xavier Sala-i-Martín and Ramon Tremosa Balcells (elected deputy for CiU in the European parliament in the 2009 election), the lawyer and current FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta or the jurist and former member of the Consejo General del Poder Judicial Alfons López Tena. The Cercle d'Estudis Sobiranistes, a think tank led by the jurists Alfons López Tena and