Floods in Spain: political leaders attacked by angry crowd during visit of king and queen

Survivors of this week’s floods in Spain vented their anger at Spain’s political leaders during a visit by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia to the city most bereaved by the tragedy, which left at least 217 dead.

“Assassins ! assassins !“, shouted the crowd gathered in Paiporta (a suburb of Valencia) against the socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the right-wing president of the Valencia region Carlos Mazón, throwing mud and various objects at the procession, according to journalists of the AFP on site.

A town of around 25,000 inhabitants, Paiporta, where at least 62 deaths have been recorded, is the locality most bereaved by the tragedy.

In the midst of extreme tension, the sovereigns, who were not targeted, received mud on their faces and on their clothes, noted an AFP journalist, an unprecedented situation in the entire history of the Spanish monarchy.

Impassive and dignified throughout this extraordinary episode, they stayed there for about an hour to talk to residents and try to calm their anger before leaving.

For their part, Pedro Sánchez and Carlos Mázon quickly left the scene, evacuated by protection services visibly very worried by what looked like a riot scene.

Following this event, the visit of sovereigns to the affected regions was suspended.