Catalonia leaders said on Saturday they will not accept the direct rule imposed on the region by the Spanish government, Reuters reported.

President of the Government of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont described Madrid’s plan as the worst attack on Barcelona’s institutions since General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship from 1939 to 1975, the BBC reported. To impose direct rule, the Spanish Cabinet will have to invoke Article 155 of Spain’s 1978 Constitution. It has never been used in the four decades since democracy was restored after General Franco’s dictatorship.

On Saturday, the Spanish government decided to sack Catalonia’s leadership and conduct a fresh election in the region. The move comes after last week, Puigdemont threatened to press ahead with a formal declaration of Catalonia’s independence unless the Spanish government agreed to a dialogue.

Spain’s Senate must approve the government’s measures when it meets for a vote on October 27. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the Catalan economy, which accounts for a fifth of Spain’s economy, was in a poor condition because of the independence referendum, and that Spain’s direct rule over Catalonia, including its Parliament, police and finance, would not last for more than six months.

But Puigdemont said the people of Catalonia cannot accept the “illegal” measures taken by the Spanish government and called on the regional Parliament to act against them. “I ask the Parliament to meet in a plenary session during which we, the representatives of the citizens’ sovereignty, will be able to decide over this attempt to liquidate our government and our democracy and act in consequence,” Puigdemont said in a televised speech, according to Reuters.