Spain's Supreme Court dropped a European arrest warrant for Puigdemont last week after Germany refused to extradite him.

The Spanish court also dropped European arrest warrants for five other Catalan pro-independence leaders living abroad.

A Spanish extradition request for three Catalan politicians who fled to Belgium with former separatist leader Carles Puigdemont was rejected by a Belgian court on Wednesday, the crown prosecutor announced.

The Catalan parliament is expected to vote in a hard-line separatist as leader on Monday, heralding an end to seven months of direct rule from Madrid but also more political uncertainty in a region that retains a mandate to seek a split from Spain.

A day after hundreds of thousands of people marched in Barcelona to demand the release of separatist officials, Mariano Rajoy also urged businesses not to flee the wealthy northern region.

The separatist party of deposed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who is facing an arrest warrant issued by Spain, said Sunday that they wanted him as candidate for regional elections on December 21.

A Spanish judge on Thursday ordered eight members of the deposed Catalan government detained pending further probes into their role in the region's tumultuous quest for independence, a Madrid court said.

Spain's state prosecutor, Attorney-General Jose Manuel Maza, called for charges of rebellion and sedition, as well as fraud and misuse of funds, to be brought against Catalan leaders.

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of a unified Spain filled Barcelona's streets on Sunday in one of the biggest shows of force yet by the so-called silent majority that has watched as regional political leaders push for Catalan independence.

Thousands of Catalans marched for independence as the region's separatist leader came under fire from allies amid speculation he will back down from threats to break away from Spain.

Catalonia's separatists were weighing their options on Sunday after Spain took drastic steps to stop the region from breaking away by dissolving its separatist government and forcing new elections.

The Spanish government said on Thursday it would press ahead with steps to suspend the autonomy of Catalonia, after the region's separatist leader threatened to declare independence from Spain.