Overview

• Francisco Franco is no longer honorary mayor of Santander following the publication of a city council agreement in the Boletín Oficial de Cantabria on May 7, 2025.
• The council annulled Franco's honorary titles, including the Medalla de Oro and Llave de Oro, granted between 1946 and 1974, as well as honors awarded to Luis Carrero Blanco.
• The revocations were prompted by a formal requirement from the Fiscalía Delegada de Derechos Humanos y Memoria Democrática to comply with Spain's Ley de Memoria Democrática.
• The city council also approved renaming 15 streets with Francoist names, a measure that had been delayed since a 2015 motion but was reactivated under legal pressure.
• The Fundación Nacional Francisco Franco condemned the actions and is preparing legal appeals, claiming the decisions lack legal basis despite the law's mandates.