Juan Carlos I: "Franco made me king to create a more open regime"

BarcelonaJuan Carlos I will publish his memoirs in France on November 5th. But this Wednesday, a week earlier, the former king made it clear that his objective is none other than to rehabilitate his image after five years of exile in Abu Dhabi. weekly Le Point He shares some excerpts from the book, in which the former monarch defends democracy as his "legacy" in Spain, and in an interview in Le Figaro He himself states that this was Franco's objective when he granted him accession to the throne: "Why lie if it was he who made me king and, in reality, he did so to create a more open regime?"

In the same interview, Juan Carlos I distances himself from the attempted coup of February 23, 1981. He does so by explaining a conversation he allegedly had in 2023 at an event at the Élysée Palace with Javier Cercas, author of the book Anatomy of a moment, about the 23-F coup attempt. "I told him, 'How could you believe I was involved?'" he recounts. He also denounces the betrayal of General Alfonso Armada, with whom he had a very close relationship, and who also participated in the attempted coup: "He was by my side for 17 years. I loved him very much, and he betrayed me. He convinced the generals that he was speaking on my behalf," he says.

The father of the current King of Spain insists on his role in ending the dictatorship: "Democracy didn't fall from the sky!" he says. And he adds that this was the reason that led him to publish his memoirs, written based on a conversation with French writer Laurence Debray"I hesitated about writing this book, but little by little I realized that the children and grandchildren of my friends had no idea who Franco was or about the democratic transition that followed. And the 70s aren't that long ago! I thought it was important to provide the direct testimony of what I experienced during 39 years," he argues.

Regarding the corruption scandals that led him to flee Spain, the emeritus king describes in the book as a "grave error" having accepted the 100 million euros that the King of Saudi Arabia gave him in August 2008. He insists, however, that Justice has never ultimately condemned herAlthough this has been the case due to the inviolability of the monarchy and the statute of limitations for some crimes. In the conversation with Le Figaro He claims he went into exile to "help" his son, Felipe VI. "I looked for a place where journalists from my country couldn't easily find me," he admits.

Lament for his isolation and the desire for rehabilitation hover over the entire book, which is titled Reconciliation"Above all, I hope to have a peaceful retirement, renew a harmonious relationship with my son, and, most importantly, return to Spain, to my home," he says in one of the excerpts published by Le Point. "Being forced into uprooting and isolation at the end of life is not easy. I am resigned, wounded by a feeling of abandonment. I cannot contain my emotion when I think of certain members of my family who no longer care, and especially when I think of Spain, which I miss so much. There are days of despair, of waiting."