Dconvoys of military vehicles. On the trailers, drinking water tanks, generators. Following them, those of Civil Security. And still those screaming sirens. This Sunday, November 3, five days after the tragically historic floods which left more than 200 dead in the south of Valencia, emergency services are – finally – at work in the martyred town of Paiporta. The day before, their presence was much more discreet in these streets full of mud where water surged during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. However, it is difficult not to make the link between their new visibility and the visit, this Sunday, of King Felipe, his wife Queen Letizia, Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish socialist Prime Minister, and Carlos Mazón, the right-wing president of the Valencia region. A visit which took on water from all sides, bordering on a riot.
“No one told us not to leave the houses. That day, we all went to work, the children went to school…”
Indeed, it will take much more than a compassionate trip to put out the fire of criticism which is now raging among many Valencians, as shown by the particularly violent reception they gave to the officials. Despite a substantial security system, the Paiporta castaways and the volunteers who, every day, take turns here to help and clean up, showered them with insults, not hesitating to attack the procession. Since then, these images have been on repeat in the Spanish media. The royal couple even received mud, unheard of, while Pedro Sánchez and Carlos Mazón were jeered at. “Assassins, assassins,” the crowd shouted at them. Faced with such tension, the visit had to be suspended. At the entrance to Paiporta, on the hood of a car wreck, this message was left in the dried mud: “Mazón asasino, hijo de…”
“I have a lot of rage”
This Sunday noon, after another morning spent, broom in hand, in the streets of the city, Anna did not hide her anger against political power: “If I saw the King and Pedro Sánchez, a single word would not be enough to tell them everything I think. I have a lot of anger, all this could have been avoided. The alarm was raised at 7 a.m. and we didn't receive the alerts on our phones until 7 p.m. No one told us not to leave the houses. That day, we all went to work, the children went to school…”
Slava is a flood survivor: “Help arrived three days later”.
Fabien Cottereau / SO
“It’s shameful what happened. The alerts should have been sent much earlier. At 7 p.m. it was too late.”
A little further away, Suzanna and Juan also spent their Sunday helping their friends in Alfafar and Benetússer. “No matter the situation, we’re going,” they say. If we came across the King and Pedro Sánchez, we would say to them: “Let us pass, we will help.” » » And continued: “It’s outrageous what happened. The alerts should have been sent much earlier. By 7 p.m. it was too late. »
MANAURE QUINTERO / AFP
The visit to Paiporta of King Felipe VI, his wife and the Prime Minister bordered on rioting.
“What would that change? »
In front of a car embedded in a tree, Slava, this former soldier of the Foreign Legion, carries a gas bottle. He is not a volunteer. He lives here in Paiporta. In his building, the water reached almost the first floor. And he is angry too. But to the King and Pedro Sánchez, he has nothing more to say: “What would it change? Ten years ago, I might have gone like crazy. But today I have a baby. I think first of my family. » This Tuesday evening, he was taken by surprise by the floods. He managed to climb onto a roof where he spent the night. “I was a soldier. Helicopters could have intervened, but no one came. The next day there were no ambulances, no help, no official vehicles. Help did not arrive until three days later. » However, he has no plans to leave the city: “I live here. »
Fabien Cottereau / SO
In Paiporta, the military began to clear the streets.
In another neighborhood of Paiporta, Juan Luis doesn't plan to leave either. However, the family garage, like most businesses, was not spared. “The water bent the door, all the cars were swept away. » With a board, he removes the mud from the garage by scraping the ground when his friends attack the evil with shovels, filling wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow. “Yes, we have to stay here, we will do everything we can,” he said. If Pedro Sánchez and Carlos Mazón had come to see him, he would have told them this: “We need a lot more help, the city has been abandoned. »
This Sunday, late in the afternoon, while the royal couple and the politicians had long left Paiporta, thousands of volunteers were heading back, exhausted and covered in mud. Since Wednesday, the narrow Jorge Melia Lafarga footbridge which takes them back to Valencia has been renamed: “solidarity footbridge”.
