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| Spain paves way to remove Franco remains from mausoleum | Spain paves way to remove Franco remains from mausoleum |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Spain's socialist government has passed a decree to exhume the remains of the late fascist dictator Francisco Franco from a huge mausoleum near Madrid. | Spain's socialist government has passed a decree to exhume the remains of the late fascist dictator Francisco Franco from a huge mausoleum near Madrid. |
| The Valley of the Fallen, 50km (30 miles) from Madrid, was created by the dictator, who died in 1975. | The Valley of the Fallen, 50km (30 miles) from Madrid, was created by the dictator, who died in 1975. |
| Today the site is seen as glorifying his victory in the 1936-39 Civil War. | Today the site is seen as glorifying his victory in the 1936-39 Civil War. |
| Gen Franco's family opposes the reburial plan. It is not clear where the remains will go, but the decree is expected to be approved by parliament. | Gen Franco's family opposes the reburial plan. It is not clear where the remains will go, but the decree is expected to be approved by parliament. |
| The Valley of the Fallen is also the resting place of about 37,000 dead from the civil war - soldiers from both sides. | |
| Far-right supporters of Franco pay homage to him at the site. | |
| But it is loathed by many in Spain as a monument to the triumph of fascism. Left-wing Republican prisoners were forced to help build it. | |
| Read more on Franco's legacy: | |
| Spain's socialist government, in power since June, has made removing Franco's remains a priority. It sees their presence there as an affront to a mature democracy. | |
| If the Franco family does not specify where the remains are to go, the final resting place will be decided by the government. | |
| The Socialist Party has parliamentary support for the exhumation from the left-wing Podemos party and from Catalan and Basque nationalists. |