Catalan-language, locally-based media draw large audiences. TV3, operated by public Televisio de Catalunya, is the leading television station. Public Catalunya Radio tops the radio ratings.

The case is now being investigated by the Catalan Consumer Agency, which the regional government oversees, and the companies could face fines of up to €100,000.

Tourists visiting the Balearic Islands will be invited to learn phrases in Catalan, as part of a drive to promote the use of the local language in the Spanish autonomous community.

The Catalan education secretary says they came having already made up their minds that the region’s language policy harms pupils’ performance. She blames child poverty, which is above the ...