Spanish fascists march in Madrid after Franco death anniversary

Hundreds of Spanish fascists marched through Madrid on Friday, a day after the country marked the 50th anniversary of divisive right-wing former dictator Francisco Franco's death.

The Falange -- an organisation that sees itself as the successor to defunct fascist movements that helped bring Franco to power in a devastating 1936-1939 civil war -- protested against what it calls democratic Spain's 1978 constitutional "regime".

Making fascist salutes and carrying Franco-era national flags, the Falange paid tribute to the movement's founder Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, whose November 20 death anniversary coincides with Franco's.

They then paraded from the headquarters of the main conservative Popular Party to that of the ruling Socialists, where a heavy police presence awaited them, AFP journalists saw.

"National unity", "PSOE, PP, it's the same war!", they chanted according to images posted on social media, referring to the parties' acronyms. They also carried an anti-migrant banner.

Among people present was Orsola Mussolini, great-granddaughter of Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who supplied crucial military backing to Franco during the civil war alongside Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany.

The central government's representation in the Madrid region said 700 people took part.

Spain has this year grappled with the legacy of the Franco's 1939-1975 regime, which still splits society and polarises politics.

An anti-fascist counter-protest in Madrid has been called for Saturday.