Pamplona-Iruña, July 6, 1999 Yolanda Barcina (UPN), the new elected mayoress of Pamplona, set off the rocket that announces the commencement of the Fiesta. From the balcony of the Town Hall she greeted the people of Pamplona: "Pamploneses, pamplonesas, ¡viva San Fermín! ¡gora San Fermín!" (citizens of Pamplona, long live San Fermin !). Down in the square thousands of mostly young people celebrated the event by throwing champagne), eggs (arguably more than ever), flour and saffron. There were some banners supporting ETA and the basque prisoners. There were also people that confronted the banners by shouting "Fiesta sí, política no" and "San Fermín, San Fermín"; i.e. more or less every years scenary. This year, nevertheless, the nationalist town councillors were not able to show the Ikurriña (basque flag), on any balcony of the Town Hall. An especially tight security service stopped all the attempts inside the Town Hall. The crowd gathered not only in the Town Hall square, but also in Plaza del Castillo and in Paseo Sarasate, where they followed the event live on big screens. Practical
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