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King Felipe VI Warns of Democratic Drift, Urges Universities to Counter Intolerance at Valencia Opening

The address capped the postponed national academic-year opening hosted by the Universitat de València during its 525th anniversary.

Overview

  • The ceremony formally opened the 2025–2026 year for Spain’s universities at the Universitat de València’s Paraninfo after a weather postponement from September 30.
  • Felipe VI cast universities as a counterpoint to resignation and paralysis, urging vigilance against radicalism, fanaticism and intolerance.
  • He warned of signs of disaffection toward core democratic values and cited a dangerous drift in the norms-based order established after 1945.
  • The speech highlighted the local flood‑recovery project ‘Salvem les fotos,’ which restores family photographs damaged in the 2024 DANA.
  • The King praised the Erasmus program and Valencia’s appeal to European students, while Minister Diana Morant underscored universities’ role in consolidating a democratic future and regional president in functions Carlos Mazón did not attend.