Puigdemont Makes Surprise Visit to Casa Macià Opening in France
Carles Puigdemont turned up unannounced at the Casa Macià opening in Prats de Molló, 13 km from Spain, days after his arrest warrant was withdrawn.
Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, leader of Junts (the pro-independence party he heads), made an unannounced appearance on Sunday at the opening of the Casa Macià, a new memory center in Prats de Molló, France, according to El País and the Catalan public broadcaster 3Cat. The town lies about 13 kilometers from the Spanish border.
The trip came days after Tribunal Supremo (Spain’s Supreme Court) judge Pablo Llarena withdrew the arrest warrant against Puigdemont and closed the case he had faced since 2017 over the procés, the independence push. El País describes that step as the last one before the court’s criminal chamber applies the amnesty to him for good.
Three presidents of the Generalitat in one room
Puigdemont shared the event with two other former presidents of the Generalitat (the Catalan government), Jordi Pujol and Pere Aragonès. El País notes that the last known public event attended by both Puigdemont and Pujol was a 2023 tribute to Pau Casals in Prada de Conflent.
Also present were Josep Rull, president of the Parlament (Catalonia’s parliament); former Parlament president Carme Forcadell; Junts secretary general Jordi Turull; and Catalonia’s culture minister, Sònia Hernández. 3Cat reported that Puigdemont embraced former culture minister Lluís Puig on arrival.
A house tied to Francesc Macià
The Casa Macià is the former Vil·la Denise, where Francesc Macià planned an attempt to free Catalonia from Spain during the Primo de Rivera dictatorship. That plan, known as the Fets de Prats de Molló, was an armed incursion organized from French soil. Macià later became the first president of the republican Generalitat. Last Wednesday, Nov. 4, was the centenary of his arrest, and the opening was timed to that anniversary.
According to 3Cat, Jaume Aragall bought the villa from its previous owners in 2020, and a group of activists set out to turn it into a memory space. More than a hundred volunteers worked on restoring the building, gathering archive documents and building the exhibition.
The project belongs to the Fundació Casa Francesc Macià. Its board includes Puigdemont, Aragonès, Forcadell, former president Quim Torra and former minister Àngels Ponsa, among others. The foundation is chaired by Puig, now a Junts member of parliament, who returned to Catalonia on Oct. 21 after nine years away from Spanish courts over his role in the procés.
What visitors will find inside
The opening-day tour started in the old ground-floor kitchen, the same entrance French gendarmes used when they came for Macià a century ago, 3Cat reported. Displays include original documents such as the provisional Constitution of the Catalan Republic drafted in Havana, plus an audiovisual on the events.
Puig also screened a short film of about fifteen minutes on Macià and the Prats de Molló events, directed by Albert Naudín and narrated by actors Lluís Soler and Sílvia Bel. The foundation launched a crowdfunding campaign last March to pay for it, aiming to raise at least 35 thousand euros in forty days. Speaking to 3Cat, Puig said the center aims to encourage research and bring life to the area by telling this part of Catalan history.
What it means for Puigdemont’s return
The visit put Puigdemont a short drive from Spain while his legal situation is being settled. 3Cat reported that he is expected to come back to Catalonia after the Nov. 29 elections, once the amnesty is final. Neither outlet gave a date for the Supreme Court chamber’s ruling.
For people in Catalonia, the house is now open to the public. 3Cat said the Casa Macià plans to host cultural and memory events and receive visitors from now on; opening hours and ticket details were not announced.
