Police hunt for fugitive separatist Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont as he returns to Spain

Former regional president appeared in front of hundreds of cheering supporters – and then promptly vanished. A police officer has been arrested in connection with the escape

After seven years exile, Carles Puigdemont audaciously spoke to a crowd of thousands in Barcelona (AP)

Catalan police are hunting for fugitive Catalonia separatist Carles Puigdemont after he dramatically returned to Spain for the first time in seven years to address a crowd of thousands before vanishing again.

The 61-year-old, a former president of the Catalonia region, climbed a stage to give a short speech near the Catalan parliament in Barcelona to thousands of followers who had shown up with independence flags and signs showing his face.

“Today, many thought they’d be celebrating my arrest, and thought that this punishment would dissuade us – and you,” he said.

“Today I came to remind them that we are still here! We are still here because we have no right to quit.”

Mr Puigdemont fled to Belgium seven years ago after Catalonia unilaterally (and unsuccessfully) declared independence from Spain. He has been living in exile ever since. He faces an arrest warrant for alleged embezzlement, which he denies.

The Catalan ministry of the interior has confirmed he is now on the run again. Police were stopping and searching vehicles heading towards the French border and there are traffic controls around the city centre following reports that Puigdemont was seen leaving in a car; roadblocks were also set up. The searches created traffic chaos in Barcelona and near the border. The operation, namedJaula (cage), was ended a few hours later. A ministry of the interior spokesperson said: “I can confirm Puigdemont has not been detained yet.”

Supporters of the Catalan independence leader excitedly waited near the parliament for Puigdemont’s arrival (AP)

After his speech, Mr Puigdemont was swiftly whisked through the crowd by members of his Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia) party but was then nowhere to be seen among the politicians who later reached parliament.

A Catalan police officer was detained on suspicion of helping Mr Puigdemont flee, a spokesperson for the force said. The officer allegedly owns the car in which Mr Puigdemont escaped after making his address, Spanish media said.

A parliamentary debate to swear in Socialist Salvador Illa as Catalonia´s new president, ending a decade of separatist rule, began amid confusion and speculation about Mr Puigdemont's whereabouts.

Mr Puigdemont’s supporters hope his return will rekindle enthusiasm for the Catalan independence cause, which has lost support in recent years. “It represents the return of a symbol,” said Xavier Vizcaino, 63, who was wrapped in an independence flag.

Given the risk of imprisonment, Mr Vizcaino said he was unclear of Puigdemont’s intentions but hoped his return would build momentum towards independence.

“I hope it is a stimulus that helps the movement recover energy and efforts,” he said. “I want to believe there is a well-structured plan behind his return.”

Thursday’s parliamentary session is set to see socialist appointed as the new Catalan president, ending more than 10 years of separatist governments in the northeastern Spanish region.

Mr Puigdemont’s return poses a direct challenge to Spain’s judicial authorities and its delicate coalition government, risking a resurgence of tensions between Catalan separatists and Madrid.

In a video released on Wednesday, outlining his plan to return, Mr Puigdemont complained about being unable to “attend freely” and of “a long persecution”.

He said: “That I can attend the parliament should be normal. That to do so risks an arrest that would be arbitrary and illegal is evidence of the democratic anomaly that we have the duty to denounce and fight.”

It was not immediately clear how authorities will proceed if Mr Puigdemont is arrested. Detaining him could jeopardise the national socialist-led coalition government’s fragile alliance with Junts per Catalunya, on which it relies for legislative support.

A contentious amnesty bill could potentially clear him and hundreds of other supporters of Catalan independence of any wrongdoing over the illegal 2017 ballot.

But the bill, approved by Spain's parliament earlier this year, is being challenged by the Supreme Court, leaving uncertainty about which crimes would be pardoned. Mr Puigdemont could initially be placed in pre-trial detention if he is arrested.

The former Catalan leader's return threatened to complicate a deal brokered after months of deadlock between Illa's Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (PSC) and the other main Catalan separatist party, the left-wing Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC). That deal had ensured just enough support in Catalonia's parliament for Mr Illa to become the next regional president

Ignacio Garriga, secretary general of the far-right Vox party, told reporters outside the Catalan parliament. “We had to see how the state allowed this criminal to hold a rally. We don’t understand why he hasn’t been arrested yet.”

Agencies contributed to this report