King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia had to interrupt their visit to Paiporta, near Valencia, this Sunday, November 3, 2024, a few days after the deadly floods which caused several hundred victims. The royal couple accompanied Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the President of Valencia, who were the targets of projectiles and threats.
Read also: King Felipe offers his condolences to the families of the victims of the torrential rains
Visit to Paiporta shortened due to projectile fire towards King Felipe VI
Earlier this week, torrential rains hit eastern Spain, causing deadly floods. According to the latest official report, 217 people lost their lives in this disaster caused by the DANA meteorological phenomenon (Isolated High Level Depression). On Wednesday, the King of Spain rushed to contact the command of the armed forces responsible for helping the victims. The King of Spain also took advantage of a trip to the Canaries to offer his condolences to the families.
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This Sunday, November 3, 2024, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were full of goodwill when they decided to go to the disaster area, in Paiporta. The King and Queen of Spain have joined this Valencian locality, described for several days as “martyr city”, accompanied by the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of the Valencia Region, Carlos Mazón. The two presidents were quickly attacked by the local population. Mud, bottles, water and sticks were thrown towards the delegation which included the royal couple. A few minutes earlier, however, King Felipe and Queen Letizia hugged crying and mud-covered residents. Despite their compassion, tension quickly became felt.
Read also: King Philippe near flood victims in the Westhoek
Pedro Sánchez and the president of Valencia were the targets of threats and projectile fire
The local population, exhausted by the last few trying days, awaited the Prime Minister with firm feet. Pedro Sánchez and the president of Valencia, accompanied by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, were greeted with shouts. The population chanted “assassins”, “how many dead?” »while the king and queen tried to speak to the local residents whose path they crossed. Felipe and Letizia tried to calm the anger of the Valencians but the tension was too high and the visit had to be cut short for security reasons. The population blames the authorities for having left them to their own devices for too long.
El Mundo reports that the tension escalated a few hours before the visit. For security reasons, local law enforcement attempted to disperse protesters and clear the streets for the royal visit. The locals attacked the mounted Civil Guard who were trying to maintain order, then the press, who were present in large numbers to cover the visit of the head of state. Residents criticized journalists for traveling for the royal visit, rather than to interview the victims' families.
The visit of King Felipe and Queen Letizia had been announced the day before by a press release which did not specify the exact route of the sovereigns, in order to avoid crowd movements and to respect the families of the victims with whom they intended to speak. Despite the cancellation of the visit to Paiporta, Felipe and Letizia maintain the following visit to Chiva.
From the hours following the disaster, the King and Queen provided support to the victims and have been in constant contact with the local authorities ever since. The Royal Household also canceled all of the couple's outdoor public engagements, which were planned for next week, as a mark of respect. The King and Queen will only provide institutional events planned at the palace.
Nicolas Fontaine
Editor-in-chief
Nicolas Fontaine has been a designer-editor and author for numerous Belgian and French brands and media. A specialist in royal family news, Nicolas founded the site Histoires royales of which he is the editor-in-chief. [email protected]
