A camp in the centre of Valencia

Valencia marked the 9 d'Octubre, the Valencian Community's regional day, with a housing-rights camp occupying the central Plaza del Ayuntamiento. The camp had been there since Saturday, and both the city council and the Delegación del Gobierno opposed evicting it. The mascletà usually fired in that square was suspended, and police fenced off much of the plaza, so spectators watched the flag ceremony from further away than usual. Ahead of the day the two administrations had clashed over how to protect the protesters' rights while thousands attended the celebrations.

Police numbers, the Senyera and the procession

Government delegate Pilar Bernabé said the police deployment rose from 1,200 planned officers to 1,700 from early in the morning. EL PAÍS described the force as 500 more than the previous year, while La Razón put it at 500 more than originally planned.

The Senyera was lowered from the town hall balcony at noon without bowing to anyone, according to La Razón. Its carrier, Vox spokesman and second deputy mayor José Gosálbez, felt unwell before the Plaza de la Reina and recovered with water and sugar during a short pause. For the first time in half a century the flag was accompanied by the sword of Jaume I, marking 750 years since the king's death. Campers removed some tents so the civic procession could pass, and it stopped at the Cathedral and El Parterre for a floral offering to Jaume I's equestrian statue.

Crowds, insults and political reactions

Shouting along the route was lower than at other processions, according to several veterans cited by EL PAÍS, possibly because of the larger police presence. Insults were still heard, including 'traitors' and 'corrupt', particularly as Mónica Oltra, Compromís candidate for mayor, and Joan Ribó, former mayor of Valencia, passed by. Mayor María José Catalá stressed 'concord' and said the procession could go ahead 'with all the honours' thanks to dialogue with the campers. Compromís spokesperson Papi Robles welcomed a day held with maximum normality, while socialist spokesman Borja Sanjuán thanked those who stand up to claim the right to housing.

In an opinion article titled 'A Legacy of the Future', Generalitat president Juanfran Pérez Llorca, in his first 9 d'Octubre as president, wrote:

The Valencian identity never needed to be built against anyone.

Alicante and Castelló mark the day

Alicante's programme opened on Thursday afternoon with a dance workshop and a reading of Tirant lo Blanch at the Centro Municipal de las Artes with the University of Alicante. On Friday a popular dansà with the groups Cresol and Postiguet was followed by a concert from the Banda Sinfónica Municipal. Mayor Luis Barcala said:

We are the tenth city in Spain and a fundamental part of the Valencian Community.

In Castelló the celebration opened at 11:30 with a tribute to Jaume I beside his statue, and the Desfile de las Tres Culturas, which represented Muslim, Jewish and Christian heritage, reached the Plaza Mayor at 12:30. Mayor Begoña Carrasco said:

Today, 9 October, we pay tribute to our roots, we honour our history and our traditions, because it is the past that identifies us and unites us.

The city is also marking 775 years since the Privilegio de Traslado, a manuscript Carrasco called fundamental to the formation and founding of the city.