THE MOST VIOLENT TOWN

In a police report recently published by El Mundo newspaper, the Guardia Civil attributed some 315 acts of violence between September and November last year to pro-independence supporters. The town where the alleged acts of violence took place was identified as Sant Esteve de les Roures and the report referred to it as a municipality where “some of the most aggressive episodes” took place. The report claimed that one protester, who had injured a number of police officers, set upon one of them who had fallen to the ground and gave him “a brutal kick to the back of the head.” Meanwhile, the report said that a motorcyclist tried to run a police officer over and steal his weapon. Yet, the thing is, there is no town with this name anywhere in Catalonia... until now, that is. Since the story came to light, Twitter accounts have been set up for local institutions, organisations and professionals, all in the fictional town of Sant Esteve de les Roures, poking fun at the police. From the local priest to the firefighters, the town now has everything, which shows that even at the darkest moments there is room for humour!

Meanwhile, the Guardia Civil continues to mess up, last month with their numbers. A report attempting to show that the Catalan government had misused public funds contradicted an announcement by Spain’s treasury minister, Cristóbal Montoro, that no public money had gone towards the independence referendum. Maths can be difficult. Perhaps they should ask for some help from the maths teacher in the school in Sant Esteve de les Roures. Or perhaps the parent-teacher association could organise some revision classes for them.