A Catalan separatist leader, running to regain the presidency of the restive Spanish region, is bussing supporters to his election rallies over the border in France because an arrest warrant prevents him from entering Spain.
Carles Puigdemont faces arrest in Spain over the crimes of misuse of public funds and disobedience for his role in Catalonia's 2017 independence referendum, which had been banned by Spanish courts.
Puigdemont, then regional president of Catalonia, oversaw a short-lived declaration of Catalan independence after the vote, before fleeing to Belgium in the face of a crackdown by national authorities. Puigdemont denied the charges against him, saying his actions were legal.
Now he is seeking to return to the presidency of the affluent northeastern region in Sunday's election, and running a close second to the candidate of Spain's governing Socialists, who oppose Catalan independence.