The Spanish Prime Minister said on Tuesday that no one is going to break up the country.

Mariano Rajoy was reacting to the Catalan president’s claim on Monday that the :regional election in September”:http://www.euronews.com/2015/08/03/spain-heading-for-constitutional-tension-as-catalonia-calls-an-early-election/ would launch the province on the road to independence if deputies from separatist parties were to win a simple majority.

“No one is going to break up Spain in any way”, said Rajoy. “Nobody is going to turn citizens of Catalonia into foreigners in their own country, which is what some people are attempting to do. The state and government will not leave you unprotected.”

The Catalan president Artur Mas has called elections a year earlier than he had to. While he acknowledges that other political issues will influence people’s choice, he has made clear that he sees the September poll as a proxy vote on independence.

“If there are more deputies in favour of the “No” then