Franco banned the official use of the Catalan language and executed or imprisoned opposition politicians and activists.

Yet there he was, asking himself what was the French for Sheela, or the Spanish, or, in this case, possibly the Catalan language version.

In Barcelona, crowds of independence supporters were swelling on downtown streets, shouting "Liberty" in the Catalan language and singing traditional Catalan songs.

Spain was only restored to democracy following the death in 1975 of military dictator Francisco Franco, under whom the Catalan language and traditions were suppressed.

It also gave a grant of €15,000 to a soft porn producer for three "erotic films" as they would promote the Catalan language.