Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in the cities of Spain on Thursday night as the culmination of a day of General Strike action. There were a total of 381 demonstrations.

Unions claimed they had 77% support the General Strike which they say reached 97% in industry. The Government has not given estimations of the numbers taking strike action, but limited itself to informing of 176 arrests and 104 injuries. Most of the arrests were for small conflicts with shopkeepers and for public order offences. All those arrested are adult.

Largest gatherings were in Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, and in many towns there were scuffles and worse with the Police. The Ministry for the Interior said at 8pm that 58 police and 46 citizens have been injured, with the worst of the trouble seen in Barcelona where many shop windows were smashed...

...The Madrid march ended in the Puerta del Sol and despite the numbers there was silence when the union leaders made their speeches.

Unions say that some 50,000 took part in the demonstration in Málaga where they walked through the central streets without any serious incidents...

...Police say there were 50,000 on the streets of A Coruña and 25,000 in Santiago de Compostela...

...Thousands took to the streets of Las Palmas on the Canaries in what was a party atmosphere, while in Palma Mallorca the large numbers of people who congregated forced police to cut traffic to a large part of the city centre.

The unions are now demanding a gesture from the Government or they say they will step up their action. UGT and CCOO have given the Rajoy cabinet until May 1 to negotiate changes in the labour reform.