Thousands gathered in Barcelona in a fourth day of protests that have led to the worst sustained street violence in Spain in decades after Catalan leaders were sentenced to lengthy prison sentences for their roles in a 2017 bid for independence.

Protesters draped in the Catalan flag gathered peacefully on Thursday, some tossing balls and skipping rope. Nearly 100 people were injured across the northeastern region of Catalonia on Wednesday while cars and garbage bins were torched overnight.

Earlier, thousands of students took to the streets, some of them hurling eggs at police holding riot shields.