Spain does not participate, or only very marginally, in European rearmament in the face of the Russian threat and American disengagement but every Saturday closest to May 30, it celebrates a Journée des Forces armées (Armed Forces Day).
Established in 1978 as a purely military event, the day took on the appearance of a popular festival. Each year, a different city hosts the main festivities. This year, Vigo, in Galicia, was chosen. The Vigo estuary hosted a major naval review on Friday afternoon on the occasion of Armed Forces Day (DIFAS 26), a demonstration chaired by King Felipe VI which brought together seven Navy ships and two Civil Guard patrol boats off Samil beach. This naval review only takes place when the military event takes place in a coastal area, as was the case last year in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The main event, the Armed Forces Day Parade, takes place this Saturday. It is broadcast on public television with a special broadcast from Vigo on TVE1. For the first time, Leonor, heir to the throne and Princess of Asturias, who is completing her military training at the General Air Academy of San Javier (Murcia), accompanies the King and Queen on the occasion of Armed Forces Day.
The date was chosen to honor the military exploits of King Ferdinand III of Castile, who fought against Muslim kings. His military action against the Moors earned him canonization in the 17th century. It is a saint celebrated on May 30, the anniversary of his death in 1252.
In reality, this Armed Forces Day is the heir to that which took place under the Franco regime which each year celebrated the Victory Parade (Victory Parade), from 1940, every April 1. This victory was that of fascism over the Republican camp. We celebrated the victory of the troops of the putschist general, Francisco Franco, on May 19, 1939, over the forces of the Popular Front, democratically elected in 1936.
The Victory Parade took place without interruption until 1976. It was not until 1964 that it was renamed the “Peace Parade”, in commemoration of 25 years of peace in Spain. VE Day was initially declared a national holiday, but it later lost this status. After the death of dictator Franco, the 1976 parade was moved to May 30. But opposition from the Captaincy General of Madrid prevented the change of name desired by the new democratic government. It was not until 1977 that the parade was finally renamed the “Armed Forces Day Parade”. Hence the reluctance towards this manifestation inherited from Francoism, from a part of public opinion which, moreover, cultivates a pacifist feeling. That said, over the past fifteen years, the image of the Spanish armed forces has significantly improved. Several surveys show that a large majority of Spaniards today have a positive opinion of the army.
An article from the International Almanac from BiblioMonde editions, May 29, 2026
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