The canoeist Saúl Craviotto (Alpicat, 1984) gave the opening speech for Lleida's May Festivities on Friday behind closed doors due to the rejection of his choice by a part of civil society. Basically because Craviotto, the Spanish athlete with the most Olympic medals – with six –, was already a National Police agent before becoming a sports icon and positioned himself against the referendum and in favor of the application of Article 155, endorsing the police repression of October 1st. With this background, about twenty parties and entities unsuccessfully requested that a substitute be found, but the mayor Fèlix Larrosa retorted that he was "an example of values".

This Monday will mark eight years since the Catalan Parliament proclaimed the Catalan Republic after the victory of the "yes" vote in the 1-O referendum. That was the most politically significant day in the history of the chamber. But an hour later, the Senate applied Article 155 of the Constitution and suspended self-government by dissolving Parliament. The unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) remained a dead letter, without any effect, and in fact, the government did not publish it in the Catalan Parliament. Official Journal of the Generalitat of Catalonia (DOGC). On the eve of a new October 27th, the DUI is a date erased by the independence movement.