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50 Spanish pesetas coin of 1957 , with the effigy of Francisco Franco | Amfeli , CC BY 4.0 < https :// creativecommons . org / licenses / by / 4.0 >, via Wikimedia Commons
with historical figures such as Alexander the Great , Napoleon , Charles V , Cesar or Hercules .
The social reaction to this historical event was polarised . We cannot provide exact numbers of those who were glad and those who began heartfelt mourning . The opposition to the Franco regime , Republican exiles , the entire labour and student movement , and millions of other Spanish people celebrated the death with quiet festivities in homes and clandestine meeting places . For them , this was a moment of hope with the start of a period that , from their perspective , would inevitably lead to the establishment of the democracy . On the other side were groups that supported Francoism , such as owners of big businesses , bankers and the military , as well as broad sections of society that were comfortable under the regime . Uncertainty seemed to be the only feeling shared by both positions , as all were aware that a time of profound changes was coming . Images of long queues of people waiting to file past the body show the interest in the figure of Franco , whether it was to pay respects or to ensure
that he was dead , as many opponents stated . So the preliminary stages of the transition began , while Franco ’ s regime came to an end .
On the first anniversary of Franco ’ s death , some of the newspapers with the largest circulation in Spain put the dictator ’ s image on front pages tinged with nostalgia , mourning and evocation . Franco was presented as a man who had received a country at war – as if he had not contributed to the war ’ s outbreak – who had given it the longest period of peace in national history . The repressive policies he had used to achieve this were not explained . The Spanish king and queen , Don Juan Carlos I and Doña Sofía , presided over the official funeral service in the basilica of the Valle de los Caídos . Meanwhile , in the Plaza de Oriente in Madrid , where Franco had often summoned the masses when he needed what were known as “ Actos de afirmación nacional ” ( acts of national affirmation ), pro- Franco groups organised a gathering in homage to his memory . From then on , the Confederación Nacional de Excombatientes ( National Confederation
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