Majorca pays its respects to the dead

Local police and the Guardia Civil traffic forces mounted special operations to ensure that congestion on the roads was kept to a minimum, while the EMT public bus company in Palma operated a series of special services in order to make it easier for people to get to the cemetery in Palma.

But it was obviously not just Palma where the cemetries were full of people laying wreaths and flowers and spending time together as families in memory of the dead. Cemeteries in all of the local towns and villages were also extremely busy. Flower shops and markets have been reporting high sales.

Palma's mayor, Antoni Noguera, and members of the ruling administration visited the cemetery yesterday. Noguera said that he had gone to pay homage to Alejandro Ribas and Miquel Ballester, two Palma firemen who some years ago lost their lives. He also wanted to remember town hall councillors who had died "simply for being councillors and defending democracy". He was referring to the Civil War.