This Thursday again, starting from the 12th stage of the Tour of Spain, in Laredo, the tension was visible. Behind the Palestine flag forest, it was almost difficult to see runners and buses. Their presence was however well noticed when that of Israel-Prime Tech has made its way, under the hoots of the demonstrators. A scene already observed multiple times since the start of the Vuelta on August 23.
Already the day before, the stage had to be shortened and neutralized in Bilbao because of the presence of Propalestinian demonstrators. Massed along the final stretch, several activists tried to force the barriers before the first pass of the peloton on the finish line, pushing the organizers to make a radical decision. During the 5th stage team time trial, Israel-Prime Tech had already been blocked.
If an activist had managed to enter the road in the last meters in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) during the Tour de France, this incident had remained isolated. The pressure is much more intense on the other side of the Pyrenees, and the runners are now fear for their safety. “We feel in danger,” assured the Italian runner Simone Petilli on her social networks, victim of a fall because of a protester.
A heritage of Franco
But how can we explain this fervent support from Palestine in Spain? “It is first of all a legacy of Franco’s foreign policy,” says Benoît Pellistrandi, professor in preparatory classes at the Condorcet high school and specialist in Spanish political history. Franco was pro-Arab, if only to ensure the oil supply of Spain. And this heritage remained in Spanish political culture, especially on the left, paradoxically. »»
With a very present independence left, the Basque Country was the ideal ground for more impactful demonstrations this Wednesday. The end of the 11th stage in Bilbao is therefore not really a surprise. “The Basque Country has shown once again today that it is a world leader in the struggle for the rights, solidarity and freedom of peoples,” said Basque independence leader Arnaldo Otegi.
But more broadly, it is a majority of Spain that supports the Palestinian cause. The country has also officially recognized the state of Palestine from May 28, 2024, at the same time as Ireland and Norway. Israel immediately repatriated his ambassador to Madrid without replacing him. “Palestinians have the right to have a state, as the Israelis have this right,” said Spanish diplomacy José Manuel Albares.
Remarks made with vigor by Pedro Sanchez, the Socialist Prime Minister. “The whole world is shocked by the images that we see every day from Gaza. The number of Palestinians who died is really unbearable, “he said in November 2023, before continuing later:” To condemn the vile attacks of a terrorist group like Hamas, and at the same time condemn the blind murder of Palestinians in Gaza, is not a political or ideology question, it is a question of humanity. »»
The extreme left welcomes the actions
“It must also be said that there is no tradition of Jewish population in Spain,” specifies Benoît Pellistrandi. You have to go back to 1492, when they were expelled (by the Alhambra decree, some have converted to Catholicism but continued to secretly practice their religion)to understand it. The press, whose big daily newspaper El Pais, is very Propaletinian. »»
Within the government, and in particular on the side of the extreme left, the multiple actions during the Tour of Spain made people happy. The Minister of Youth and Childhood, Sira Rego, notably spoke of a “lesson of humanity” and the demonstration of “the country’s commitment to peace and human rights”. Government vice-presidency, Yolanda Dias, praised “the country’s commitment to genocide”.
Within the right -wing political class, opinions are perceived as more in support of Israel, “without being favorable to war as it is waged by Netanyahu”, specifies the specialist in Spanish politics. However, their voice carries less. “It’s been a long time since the Spaniards are attached to this question of human rights, there are many humanitarian commitments, there is a real proximity. It is curious because Spain has no major interest in the Middle East, but it is a very epidermal subject. Who could still disrupt the next steps in the Vuelta.
