Southern Basque Country
That same year, France refused to acknowledge Basque refugees as political refugees, arguing that Spain was already a democracy. To protest against this, refugees began a hunger strike in several Northern Basque Country provinces, under the slogan "Euskadin bizi nahi dugu", "We want to live in Euskadi". In Southern Basque Country, solidarity was shown in different ways: politicians closed themselves up in administrative buildings, citizens went on hunger strikes, and started several demonstrations. Some of these demonstrations would become especially bloody.