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“Assassins!”: in Spain, a day of anger against the authorities
“Sons of whores!”, “Murderers!”… In Paiporta, a Spanish town ravaged by floods at the start of the week, the crowd let out their anger on Sunday against the authorities during a visit by King Felipe VI, marked by boos and throwing mud.”How many dead are there? How many dead are there?”: on the arrival of the king and queen Letizia, inhabitants of this locality of 25,000 inhabitants located in the southern suburbs of Valencia, residents beside themselves took the procession to task. In their sights, the socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the president of the Valencia region Carlos Mazón, figure of the Popular Party (PP , right), present alongside the royal couple.Five days after the torrential rains which destroyed part of the region, the authorities are making their first official visit to the land, still cluttered with piled up cars, mud and debris.For the residents of Paiporta – where there have already been more than 70 deaths and an unknown number of missing in flooded parking lots, according to the municipality – this trip is too late. On the arrival of the official procession, a few meters from the Municipal auditorium, hundreds of people jostle towards the black cars of the authorities. “The Prime Minister is a dog!” shouts a resident. Pedro Sánchez then Carlos Mazón, under jets of mud and debris, are quickly evacuated by worried bodyguards. The only thing moving forward is the royal couple, whom overwhelmed police officers are trying to protect. – “Aren’t you ashamed?” – “These are not deaths, they are murders,” say young people. A man, in tears, shouts at the royal couple to leave the town. Tension rises. There are charges, slips and lots of anger. The king, his jacket stained with mud, his face and hair also stained, managed to advance a few steps. “If you had come the first day and had worn boots, the people would have supported you,” a young man reproaches him. man in yellow jacket. “Felipe, there are dead people there!”, he says to the monarch, who tries to give him an explanation. A few meters further, Queen Letizia, her forehead and nose also covered with mud, listens to a shocked girl and puts her hands on her face. “There are dead children, aren’t you ashamed?” a man shouts at them in the distance. Despite the arrival of help and the police, the residents of this southern suburb of Valencia feel alone. And intend to make it known to the authorities, accused of not having relayed the weather agency’s alert in time on the evening of bad weather. “Where is Pedro Sanchez, Pedro Sanchez where is he?”, residents sang, his voice torn, while the Prime Minister had left the premises. – “You will forget us” -After having covered on foot part of what was just a few days ago one of the avenues of the city, now converted in a cemetery of rubble and mud, the royal couple tries to get into their vehicles. The first attempt is a failure and they retreat, under the nervous protection of their security teams. After discussing with other neighbors, the official procession finally manages to leave the city, abandoned to its new reality. “They all came here to protect the king and do not let those who really come to protect the streets pass,” laments Adrián Garcia, who like many residents of the region will never forget the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. “I saw a footbridge break. We had to save elderly women, police officers and myself,” said recalls this resident in a trembling voice, his feet stained with mud. With the restaurant where he worked being destroyed, with reconstruction that could last months, the future seems very distant for this resident. “In a week, you will forget all of us,” he laments.rs/vab/cls
