Coup de eat, or Els Enfarinats, the Spanish festival where people revolt with flour and eggs

Every year on December 28, the small town of Ibi in Spain‘s Alicante municipality descends into the chaos of a mock-up coup d’état as the people celebrate the festival of Els Enfarinats.

Els Enfarinats roughly translates to “the floured ones”. As per an account published in Atlas Obscura, the festival starts when a group consisting of about 20-30 people known as Els Enfarinats elect a new “mayor” at the town square. This mayor then makes a series of absurd laws. The people who disobey them are fined with real money.

At some point, they form another group, known as the La Oposicio (the Opposition) and retaliate against the Els Enfarinats. Then a food fight with flour, eggs and even paint ensues between the two groups. It soon transcends into pure chaos.

Videos and photos of this year’s Els Enfarinats celebrations are being widely circulated online. While many people seemed fascinated by the unlikely festival, many others criticised it for its food wastage.

The participants in the food fight often don helmets, protective goggles and even military gear. The fight concludes at 5pm, when the fines collected are donated to a local charity and public dances are arranged following a clean-up exercise.