Vexillogy

I'd never seen this flag until it turned up on the demo against Israeli attacks on Lebanon held last Saturday in Auckland. The Spanish expat waving it relieved me of my ignorance, explaining that it was the flag of the Republican Spanish government overthrown by Franco, and that today, on the seventieth anniversary of the beginning of Franco's revolt, it is being used again in demonstrations in Spain, as a symbol of the country's left tradition.

There were apparently hundreds of Republican flags being waved on the enormous demonstration of solidarity with Lebanon and Palestine held a few days back in Barcelona. You can read a report on the much smaller but still spirited Auckland demo here.