Survivors of the bereaved town of Paiporta violently expressed their anger on Sunday, during a visit by the royal couple, the Prime Minister and the president of the region. The symbol of criticism of the authorities.
After five days of mourning, an explosion of anger, throwing mud, projectiles and insults. Residents of Paiporta strongly attacked King Felipe VI of Spain, Queen Letizia, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Valencia Region President Carlos Mazon on Sunday, November 3, during the first visit of the latter at the scene of the floods which left at least 217 dead in the south-east of Spain on Tuesday. The delegation was greeted with cries of“Assassins, assassins” in this town in the south of Valencia. Striking images which highlighted the anger of the victims towards the authorities.
The cameras notably filmed passers-by threw mud and other projectiles in the direction of the royal couple and politicians. More than King Felipe,The hostility of these residents was directed against Carlos Mazon and Pedro Sanchez. “Mazon resign!”, “How many dead?”, “Out!”shouted those present, who accused the region and the State of having abandoned them during and after the tragedy.
The regional government of Valencia is the subject of criticism for having sent a telephone alert message to residents too late on Tuesday. The Spanish meteorological agency had however placed the region on “red alert” from the beginning of the morning, as we can see on its X account. But it was only around 5 p.m. that the regional body responsible for coordinating relief action in the event of an emergency. And the alert message asking residents not to leave their homes, sent to telephones and accompanied by a shrill sound, was only broadcast after 8 p.m. by Civil Protection.
According to numerous testimonies collected on site by France Télévisions, many were taken by surprise. In Paiporta, the telephones received the alert message at 8:10 p.m. “The alarms sounded when we already had water everywhere. We had already saved a woman with her two babies, a man locked in his car”explains Txelo Enrique, a resident, to franceinfo. In Chiva, west of Valencia, the same observation. María José, a resident, told AFP that when the rain intensified, “We didn't receive any alert, so my daughter still went to school.” “It was only at 11 p.m. that the gendarmes warned me that the river had overflowed”she assures.
Due to the damage suffered by the telephone network, other residents received alerts with a significant time delay, sometimes the day after sending, as noted by France Télévisions. In fact, some victims like Juan, interviewed by franceinfo in Alfafar on Sunday, are convinced that “many deaths could have been avoided if the alerts had arrived before”.
Criticisms rejected en masse by the president of the region, Carlos Mazon. He ensures that he followed the emergency protocol in force. “From the beginning, alerts were issued through all the usual channels through which red alerts have always been issued”he said on X Friday.
Once the disaster has occurred, it is the lack of responsiveness of the authorities that is singled out. For some victims, aid to residents could have been deployed more quickly. “Here, we are dying”Oscar Hernandez, a resident of Chiva, told AFP on Saturday “angry”. “The president of the region [de Valence] didn't boil”he denounced, demanding “an investigation” to determine “responsibilities”. A Paiporta disaster victim gave the same speech to franceinfo on Thursday:
“No one came to see us, they didn’t tell us anything, they didn’t come to bring us food or a package. We’ve been trying to survive for two days.”
José Enrique, inhabitant of Paiportaat franceinfo
In Alfafar, further south, the “authorities left us alone”regretted Estrella Caceres, 66 years old, on Saturday. “Thank you to the people who came to help us, thank you to everyone, because on the authorities side, there is no one.” The city's mayor, Juan Ramon Adsuara, expressed the same sentiment: “Of course, we are angry in Alfafar, because we need the deployment of the army. I asked the government and the minister to deploy all means, whether aerial or otherwise”he testified to RFI on Friday.
On the sidelines of the visit of political leaders and the royal couple on Sunday, incomprehension is also common. “What were they looking for with this visit? People are very angry. Pedro Sánchez should have come on the first day with a shovel”annoys a resident nearThe Country. “I understand the social indignation”replied regional president Carlos Mazon, on X, at the end of this stormy trip.
To respond to these criticisms, the region and the executive first rejected responsibility. The conservative Carlos Mazon, supported by the leader of his opposition party, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, initially overwhelmed the government of socialist Pedro Sánchez. Before changing your tone, after a meeting, Thursday, and speaking with the same voice. “I once again reiterate my gratitude to the members of the government”he declared in particular.
On Saturday, the president of the Valencia region promised economic aid measures and a return to order, after reports of looting. “There are people who may have felt alone, helpless, unprotected and I understand that”he admitted.
A little earlier, Pedro Sanchez had announced the doubling of reinforcements of police and civil guards sent there, from 5,000 to 10,000, and announced the sending of 5,000 additional soldiers, bringing their total strength to 7,500, i.e. “largest deployment of armed forces ever carried out in Spain in peacetime”. Reinforcements, decided four days after the tragedy, which were not enough to calm the spirits.
