Together, we save Ripoll's ordinances after Sílvia Orriols lifts the veil ban.

BarcelonaThe mayor of Ripoll, Silvia Orriols, has already secured the new civility ordinances. After a failed first attempt in the summer, the municipal plenary session initially approved the new regulations, with the favorable votes of Aliança, Junts, and Som-hi Ripoll. The difference between the text Orriols presented at the plenary session on Monday and what she presented a few months ago is that, in the approved version, the ban on the Islamic veil that the far-right mayor intended to introduce is absent. In response to this change, the Junts municipal group decided to vote in favor, responding, they argue, to the requests of "residents and merchants" to address the problems of "insecurity and incivility" in Ripoll. ERC, PSC, and CUP voted against, criticizing the punitive approach of the text submitted to the plenary session.

The new ordinances introduce restrictions on the sale of alcohol at night, but also a ban on playing ball in the street (with the exception of children under 8), a regulation on the use of firecrackers, and a ban on dogs entering playgrounds, with the corresponding sanctions. Sources from Junts consulted by ARA deny that they have ever opened negotiations with Aliança to agree on these and assert that it was Sílvia Orriols who unilaterally chose to dispense with the controversial point of the Islamic veil in order to approve them. Aliança affirms that there were contacts with Junts prior to the vote, and reiterates that the decision to abandon the veil ban is circumstantial: "We will not give up on achieving this ban," maintain sources close to Orriols.

Meeting in July

Yes, there was a meeting in July, in which Junts conveyed its position to Orriols. in a debate, that of the Islamic veil, which shook the party a few months ago: They are in favor of prohibiting the full veil and any other veil that prevents people from being identified in public spaces, but not the hijab (which only covers the hair). At the national level, following a motion by the Alliance in Parliament seeking to ban the veil, the leadership of Carles Puigdemont's party agreed to publicly support its prohibition during compulsory education, arguing that it would prevent situations of "discrimination against women."

It should be remembered that, in Ripoll, there is no cordon sanitaire on the far right. Junts' refusal to join an agreement with PSC, ERC and CUP to prevent Aliança from taking over the mayor's office led to Orriols coming to power in 2023. Two years later, municipal council sources defend voting in favor of initiatives such as ordinances to prevent the mayor and deputy from doing what she promises, not because the opposition is boycotting her. In fact, during the plenary session, ERC and CUP councilors were willing to vote in favor of a specific modification of the ordinance (for example, the one that prohibits dogs from entering playgrounds) if Orriols had presented it separately.

Despite Junts' favorable vote, the very tense session left some ties between Orriols and the president of the Junts municipal group, Montsina Llimós. The councilor defended talking about immigration from the perspective of "rights and duties" and integration, and also regretted that he had "lacked attention to this" during the debate. "Perhaps we should add to the ordinances how we should address each other in plenary sessions," he added.