Franco’s grandson in court for police run-in

A grandson of former dictator General Franco appeared in court yesterday (Thursday).

Francisco Franco Martínez-Bordiu, 59, stands accused of deliberately ramming a police patrol car following a high-speed chase.

Martínez-Bordiu, the oldest grandson of the late dictator, is charged with dangerous driving and an attack against authority.

The businessman is a regular in Spain’s gossip columns, is charged with dangerous driving and an attack against authority.

According to a court spokesperson Martínez-Bordiu was questioned by a judge in the town of Calamocha in northeastern Spain for two hours.

A complaint lodged by a police officer involved in the car chase describes how on April 30 2012 Guardia Civil officers spotted Martínez-Bordiu driving near Calamocha in the dark without any lights.

When the officers signalled for him to stop, he supposedly sped up, missing several stop signs. Apparently, Martínez-Bordiu then rammed a patrol car, running it off the road.

Martínez-Bordiu, one of seven children by Franco’s only daughter Maria del Carmen Franco Polo, denies being in the vehicle that rammed the patrol car.

The accused’s lawyer, Felix Martin, told reporters that on the day in question Martínez-Bordiu had lent his car to a former Romanian employee who “probably” no longer lives in Spain.