General Franco died on 20 November 1975. The clandestine opposition to his regime raised the demand for a democratic rupture with the past. On 23 the Council of Political Forces in Catalonia was set up. On 1 and 8 February 1976, there were mass demonstrations organised by the Assembly of Catalonia, which were harshly repressed. The opening up of the regime, promoted by the king Juan Carlos I and by Adolfo Suárez, the president of the government since 1976, led to democracy by another route, political reform. In June 1977, the first free elections since 1936 were held.