Spanish king almost lynched during visit to affected area: 'Murderer!'
King Felipe visited the flooded municipality of Paiporta on Sunday afternoon, but the visit did not go at all as he had imagined.
There is great despair and sadness in the hard-hit areas of Spain. A massive deluge caused devastating floods that killed at least 217 people. Spanish King Felipe wanted to express his condolences on Sunday afternoon by visiting the flooded Paiporta, but the residents there reacted violently to his visit. “Murderer!” shouted the crowd, throwing mud, bottles and sticks. “You're four days late! You are four days late!” King Felipe tried to take the arm of the shouting young man to calm him down, but the anger was too great. “They knew what was going to happen, and no one did anything to prevent it,” he shouted. The anger only increased.
A crowd of people turned against King Felipe, his wife Letizia, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Carlos Mazon, the president of the Valencia region. “Murderer!” they shouted. “Go away, you son of a b****!” After all, the population is angry about what they call the government's slow and inadequate relief efforts. Thousands of residents are dissatisfied that the warning about the terrible extent of the storm was delayed: only when it was too late did many of them receive a message on their smartphone to leave the area.
Pere, a volunteer from Barcelona, says Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez should have arrived much earlier. “On day one, with a shovel.”
However, according to the Spanish channel RTVE, the king refused to stop the visit. He tried to talk to the residents. A security officer tried to protect Felipe with an umbrella, but was unsuccessful. Ultimately the visit was stopped.
(FVDV for Tagtik/Source: El Pais/lllustration: Pixabay)