Whistles and boos greeted Pedro Sánchez at the Madrid parade; spectators also shouted an insult. The ceremony came during the campaign for the 29 November election.
Madrid’s National Day parade began with a hostile reception for the prime minister. Europa Press reported that Pedro Sánchez arrived before the royal family on 12 October, and that spectators reacted similarly as the monarchs greeted representatives of the authorities. The reports describe the crowd’s reaction but do not identify a particular group behind it.
The parade took place during the campaign for the early parliamentary election scheduled for 29 November. Spanish media also set the ceremony against the crisis around Ceuta and the heightened political tension. Available reporting does not establish that either issue caused the boos or identify a party or organisation responsible.
La Sexta reported that Sánchez arrived at Plaza de Neptuno at around 10:56, shortly before the ceremony began. Among the shouts directed at the prime minister was an explicit insult.
Felipe VI attended with Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía. The programme included the national anthem and salutes. Before the parade began, the King reviewed the troops.
Campaign coverage has also focused on the political backdrop. A poll published on 12 October put Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s People’s Party at 28.7% and projected it to win 121 to 125 seats. In that poll, 56.6% of respondents expected Feijóo to win, compared with 19.1% who expected Sánchez. Those findings come from an individual poll and do not show that polling caused the reaction at the parade.
Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso used the occasion to call for Sánchez’s period in office to end, linking her remarks to the coming election and support for Ceuta.
The reports confirm that insulting shouts were heard when Sánchez arrived, then again as authorities were greeted. They give no reliable estimate of how many people took part.
A separate poll, conducted on 10 to 11 October among 1,000 voters, projected a lead of more than 90 seats for the centre-right PP–Vox bloc.
