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The exhumation of Francisco Franco from the Valley of the Fallen, in pictures

The remains of the dictator were today transferred from the controversial monument to the Pardo-Mingorrubio cemetery, where supporters gathered with banners and flags

El País

Madrid - Oct 24, 2019 - 14:57CEST

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Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú (l) and Luis Alfonso de Borbón Martínez-Bordiú (r), two of Franco’s relatives, carry his remains out of the Valley of the Fallen basilica.AP (Juan Carlos Hidalgo)

The Franco family prepares to place the coffin in the funeral car, J.J. Guillén (POOL / EFE)

The Franco family prepares to place the coffin in the funeral car, ready to be transported to the awaiting helicopter. The relatives shouted, “¡Viva Franco! ¡Viva España!” Emilio Naranjo (POOL / EFE)

Franco’s casket is loaded onto the helicopter ready for transfer to the El Pardo-Mingorrubio cemetery.J. J. Guillén (POOL efe)

The helicopter carrying Franco’s remains takes off from the Valley of the Fallen. Mariscal (efe)

Antonio Tejero, the former Civil Guard lieutenant-colonel who led the failed coup against Spanish Congress on February 23, 1981, arrives at the Pardo-Mingorrubio cemetery.Inés Santaeulalia

Around 100 Franco supporters gathered outside the Pardo-Mingorrubio cemetery on Thursday to pay tribute to the dictator. In this photo, a man holds a Spanish flag with an image of Franco and the message: “You are our savior and pride.”Samuel Sánchez

The pro-Franco supporters outside the Pardo-Mingorrubio cemetery on Thursday also shouted slogans such as: “Death to the traitors!” as well as aiming insults against the caretaker prime minister, Pedro Sánchez.Samuel Sánchez

Franco supporters hold a banner with the message “Franco lives” and a pre-constitutional Spanish flag.Samuel Sánchez

A Franco supporter makes a fascist salute outside the Pardo-Mingorrubio cemetery. The central government’s delegation in Madrid banned a demonstration organized by the Francisco Franco Foundation over concerns it could lead to “serious public order problems.”Samuel Sánchez

Francisco Franco Martínez-Bordiú, known as Francis Franco, the eldest grandchild of Spain’s former dictator Francisco Franco, talks to the media outside his home. He is carrying a wreath of flowers and a pre-constitutional flag.Nathan Frandino (REUTERS)

Wreaths of flowers arrive at the El Pardo-Mingorrubio cemetery, where the remains of the dictator Francisco Franco will be reburied.Samuel Sánchez

Ramón Tejero (l), a Catholic priest who is the son of Antonio Tejero, the former Civil Guard lieutenant-colonel who led the failed coup against Spanish Congress on February 23, 1981, will be in charge of officiating the reburial Mass of Francisco Franco. In this image, Ramón Tejero arrives at the El Pardo-Mingorrubio cemetery.Samuel Sánchez

The Franco family’s lawyer, Felipe Utrera Molina, carries a bouquet of flowers as he arrives at the Basilica of the Valley of the Fallen on Thursday.Juan Carlos Hidalgo (EFE / POOL)

The Franco family is greeted by Santiago Cantera, the prior of the Basilica of the Valley of the Fallen, as they arrive for the exhumation of Franco.Emilio Naranjo (EFE / POOL)

Franco’s great-grandson, Luis Alfonso de Borbón Martínez-Bordiú (r) and the dictator’s grandson, Jaime Martínez Bordiú, arrive at the Basilica of the Valley of the Fallen.Juan Carlos Hidalgo (EFE / POOL)

Members of the Franco family arrive at the basilica of the Valley of the Fallen.Juan Carlos Hidalgo (EFE / POOL)

Members of the Franco family enter the Valley of the Fallen to attend the exhumation.Emilio Naranjo (EFE / POOL)

Franco-supporters gather outside the Mingorrubio-El Pardo cemetery, where the dictator’s remains will be reburied, holding a Spanish flag with the message: “Thank you Franco!”Jeff J Mitchell (GETTY)

One of the helicopters, that will transfer Franco’s remains, flies above the Valley of the Fallen.Julián Rojas

Work on Cuelgamuros, the site where the Valley of the Fallen was built, began on April 1, 1940. Franco, symbolically, made the first detonation after attending a military parade in Madrid, commemorating the one-year anniversary of his victory. This image shows a rocky cliff known as Risco de La Nava, in the Cuelgamuros area in the Guadarrama Mountains, before the construction of the Valley of the Fallen.EFE

Franco regularly went to see the work being done on the Valley of the Fallen, and regularly brought foreign personalities to the site, including the foreign minister of Peru, Manuel Gallagher (October 1951); the president of Portugal, Craveiro Lopes (May 1953) and the Dominican dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo (June 1954). This image shows Franco and his wife, Carmen Polo, walking through the building site in 1940.EFE

The exact number of prisoners who built the Valley of the Fallen is still unknown. According to different sources, the number could be between 800 and 20,000. It was good business for the developers, as workers were paid very little and the prisoners were conditioned to follow instructions, no matter how dangerous or difficult they were to carry out. This image is a from the book ‘Víctimas de la victoria,’ (Victims of the Victory) by Rafael Torres.RAFAEL TORRES

Work on the Valley of the Fallen was expected to take just a year to complete. But the building process faced many difficulties and the monument was not completed until 1959. This is a image of the building work on the Valley of the Fallen from November 1952. At the top, you can see part of the great cross that would crown the monument.EFE

In 1957, a committee was set up to manage the transfer of the remains of war victims from all over Spain to the crypts in the Valley of the Fallen. The war victims were from both side of the Spanish Civil War. An estimated 33,847 people are buried here, making the monument the largest mass grave in Spain and one of the largest in Europe. The image shows boxes of victims’ remains in 1959.EFE

The opening of the Valley of the Fallen, where Francoist and Republican soldiers and civilians were buried, was used by the regime to improve the image of the dictatorship. In this image, Franco is pictured in the center between the authorities at the inauguration ceremony on April 1, 1959.HERMES PATO (EFE)

It seems that the decision to bury Franco in the Valley of the Fallen on November 23, 1975 was taken by President Carlos Arias Navarro and ratified by the future King Juan Carlos I, because there is no evidence that Franco asked to be buried there. In this image, workers place the 1,500-kilogram granite slab over Franco’s coffin.EFE

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