- Title: Franco supporters protest the exhumation of his remains
- Date: 24th October 2019
- Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (OCTOBER 24, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FRANCO SUPPORTER HOLDING FLAG FRANCO SUPPORTERS STANDING BEHIND GATE FLAG THAT READS "FRANCO GRACIAS" / SUPPORTERS HOLDING FLAG MORE FRANCO SUPPORTERS CLOSE-UP OF FRANCO-ERA FLAG (WITH EAGLE) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MARIE CARMEN, FRANCO SUPPORTER, SAYING: "I never thought that we would get to these extremes. Never. These are political quarrels. All politics. And I think it's the story of Spain that you have to respect the dead that have spent 45 years there already. It all seems to me, I don't know, surreal." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) JORGE ALVAREZ, FRANCO SUPPORTER, SAYING: "We think there was a civil war here 70 years ago where half of Spain was on one side and the other half on the other. We think for the government to tell us now who were the good ones and who were the bad ones criminalizes the half that were on one side, it reopens wounds and returns to a mentality of civil war." PAN OF FRANCO SUPPORTERS CLOSE-UP OF 2020 CALENDAR SHOWING FRANCISCO FRANCO GROUP OF SUPPORTERS BANNER READING "PSOE PROFANADOR DE TUMBAS" (SOCIALIST PARTY PROFANER OF TOMBS) MAN WEARING HAT OF THE SPANISH LEGION, OF WHICH FRANCO WAS A MEMBER POLICE OFFICER POLICE HELICOPTER FLYING OVERHEAD VARIOUS OF MOTORCADE WITH HEARSE LEAVING FROM MINGORRUBIO CEMETERY POLICE OFFICERS ON HORSE BACK
- Embargoed: 7th November 2019 10:19
- Keywords: General Francisco Franco exhumation Spanish Civil War Mingorrubio cemetery protest Franco supporters
- Location: MADRID, SPAIN
- City: MADRID, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001B2GHQH3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: About 100 supporters of Francisco Franco gathered outside the Mingorrubio Cemetery in Madrid on Thursday (November 24) to show solidarity with the late general's family and protest against the government's decision to exhume the Spanish dictator and remove his remains from the Valley of the Fallen.
As the group was gathered, Franco's remains were exhumed from the state mausoleum in the Valley of the Fallen where they have lain since his death more than four decades ago, a Spanish government source said.
They were to be taken to El Pardo's Mingorrubio cemetery north of Madrid where the former dictator's wife is buried.
The crowd outside the cemetery held Franco-era flags, banners, and even Franco-themed calendars to show their support.
One supporter said the decision was the result of political quarrels while another said the government was reopening old wounds.
Meanwhile, a hearse left from the cemetery heading for a helipad, where it'll await the arrival of Franco's remains, which are being carried by a helicopter.
(Production: Raul Cadenas, Julien Hennequin, Nathan Frandino) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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