“Murderer!” “Shame!” The shouts followed King Felipe VI down a pedestrian street in Paiporta on 3 November 2024, and within minutes his bodyguards and police were struggling to hold a protective ring around him.
The king and Queen Letizia had come to the town, one of the worst hit by the floods that tore through the Valencia region the previous Tuesday. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Carlos Mazón, head of the Valencian regional government, walked with them. A crowd surged forward, throwing mud and other objects. Anadolu Agency put the number of protesters at about 100 and said shovels were among what flew through the air, along with insults and cries of “murderers.”
Footage showed the royal party caked in mud. The faces and clothes of the king, the queen and their entourage were stained, and aides held umbrellas over the monarch as the group pulled out. Queen Letizia was seen in tears. The king did not simply retreat, though. The BBC reported that he engaged with several people in the crowd and even embraced some of them.
Sánchez pulled out first
Sánchez and Mazón were hurried away as the mood turned hostile. Spanish media reported that objects were thrown at the prime minister, and footage verified by the BBC appeared to show stones hitting his car as it drove off. Once he had gone, the crowd chanted: “Where is Sánchez?” Civil guard officers, some on horseback, were later seen trying to break up the crowd.
The anger had a clear source. More than 200 people had died in what the BBC called the worst floods in Spain for decades, and by that Sunday the toll stood at 217. Paiporta alone had at least 62 deaths, according to local authorities. Residents spoke of warnings that never came and help that arrived late.
“I’m just 16,” a boy named Pau told the BBC through tears. “We’re helping, and the leaders do nothing. People are still dying. I can’t stand this anymore.” A woman told the broadcaster: “They left us to die. We’ve lost everything: our businesses, our homes, our dreams.”
Paiporta’s mayor, Maribel Albalat, said she was shocked by the violence but understood “the frustration and desperation of the people.” Juan Bordera, a member of the Valencian parliament, called the royal visit “a very bad decision” and said authorities “didn’t listen to any warnings.”
The Chiva stop is cancelled
The royal party had meant to continue to Chiva, another badly hit town. That leg was postponed, a decision reached jointly by state authorities, the Valencian government and the Royal Household, according to broadcaster RTVE as relayed by Anadolu. Later the king said in a video on the royal household’s Instagram account that he understood the “anger and frustration” of the protesters.
The day before, Sánchez had ordered 10,000 more troops, police officers and civil guards to the area, Spain’s largest peacetime deployment, while admitting the response was “not enough” and that there were “severe problems and shortages.” Anadolu reported that more than 17,000 security personnel were deployed overall, that more than 3,000 residents still had no electricity, and that looting had led to 20 arrests overnight.
Sources
- Spain's king and queen pelted with mud in flood-hit Valencia
- Spanish royals postpone visit to flood-stricken Chiva after hostile reception in Valencia
