The Day of the Manlleu Fire and the Police Chief's Resignation

The morning of February 17th was dominated by a domestic tragedy in Manlleu, Barcelona, where five young people died in a fire in a rooftop storage room used as precarious housing. National editors focused on the social implications of urban poverty as details emerged throughout the day. In the afternoon, the institutional agenda shifted to the Congress of Deputies, where King Felipe VI presided over the 1978 Constitution’s milestone as the longest-lasting in Spanish history. This ceremony coincided with a failed parliamentary attempt by PP and Vox to ban the burka, a proposal rejected by the majority including Junts, which registered its own alternative regulation. By late evening, the media cycle was overtaken by the sudden resignation of the National Police’s Operational Director (DAO), José Ángel González. Outlets across the spectrum reported that the resignation followed a court-admitted rape allegation by a subordinate, triggering immediate political pressure on Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.