AArriving at midday in Paiporta, a town of 25,000 inhabitants among the most affected by the tragedy, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were greeted by furious residents, who attacked Mr. Sánchez and the president from the Valencia region, Carlos Mazón.
“Assassins ! Assassins !”, shouted exasperated residents. Some people threw mud and various objects at the procession, while insults were poured out against the Prime Minister and Mr. Mazón, a figure of the Popular Party (PP, right), according to the AFP journalists present. on site.
In the midst of extreme tension, which required the intervention of mounted police to push back the most violent protesters, the sovereigns received mud on their faces and on their clothes, an episode undoubtedly unprecedented in the history of the Spanish monarchy.
Visibly moved, but impassive throughout this astonishing sequence, they stayed for about an hour to talk to residents and try to calm their anger before leaving. Their visit to another location was canceled.
In the evening, the king affirmed in a video posted on X that it was necessary “understand anger and frustration“residents”because of what they suffered”. He called for “give them hope and guarantee that the State (…) is present” to help them.
Pedro Sánchez and Carlos Mázon, who were showered with the worst insults, were quickly exfiltrated by the security services and taken to a safe place. Public television TVE showed images of a mud-smeared vehicle, presented as Sánchez’s official car, whose rear window was broken.
In a short statement a few hours later, Sánchez said he understood “anguish and suffering“of the victims, but condemned”any type of violence”, describing these incidents as “absolutely marginal”. Mázon praised the attitude “copy” of the king.
Mázon is accused of having sent a telephone alert message to residents very late on Tuesday, when the meteorological services had placed the region in “red alert” first thing in the morning.
Pedro Sánchez is criticized for the slow delivery of aid by the victims, who feel abandoned by the State.
On Sunday evening, Spanish media reported the possible involvement of far-right groups in the angry movement in Paiporta. “We will not allow radical groups to profit from people’s pain”reacted on X the number two of the Sánchez government, Maria Jesus Montero.
A few hours after these high tensions, the National Meteorological Agency (Aemet) issued an alert “rouge” (extreme danger) for the southern coast of Valencia, due to a risk of heavy rainfall (90 liters/m2, or 9 cm), raising fears of a new disaster scenario for the affected localities.
In the process, residents were called by megaphone to return home, while alerts sounded on cell phones.
The alert was finally downgraded to orange category shortly after 9 p.m. (8 p.m. GMT), but Valencia town hall decided to close classes on Monday to take into account travel restrictions imposed by the regional government.
According to a latest report, at least 217 people died in these floods, namely 213 in the Valencia region alone, three in Castile-la-Mancha, where the lifeless body of a septuagenarian who went missing on Tuesday was discovered on Sunday morning. twelve kilometers from the place of his disappearance, and one in Andalusia.
The authorities know that the toll is set to rise. “There are still flooded ground floors or garages, basements and parking lots to be cleared and it is foreseeable that deceased people are in these spaces”, warned the Minister of Transport, Oscar Puente.
On the ground, the population remains faced with a dramatic situation, with infrastructure destroyed or out of service and piles of cars and debris on the road. According to the authorities, several thousand homes still remain without electricity.
“It seems like the end of the world”, told AFP Helena Danna Daniella, owner of a bar-restaurant in Chiva, still in shock five days after the bad weather. People trapped “were asking for help and we couldn’t do anything (…) It drives you crazy: you look for answers and you can’t find them”.
