Mass protests across Spain over government's handling of Ceuta migrant crisis
Thousands of people rallied in cities across Spain to criticise Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's handling of a large migrant influx into the exclave of Ceuta. Opposition figures called for his resignation, while the government accused right-wing parties of exploiting the crisis.
Spain saw large protests on Wednesday in multiple cities against the government's response to a migrant crisis in Ceuta, its exclave on the North African coast. Opposition parties accuse Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of abandoning Ceuta's residents, while the government maintains that right-wing parties are exploiting the situation for political gain.
A police report released Wednesday found that Moroccan security forces showed "total permissiveness" during the unprecedented wave of crossings, contradicting Sánchez's earlier insistence that Morocco bore no responsibility. The prime minister has instead pointed to trafficking networks and online misinformation as drivers of the mass crossing. Morocco has rejected any suggestion that it orchestrated or was involved in the influx.
On 30 and 31 July, at least 72,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta. While most have since returned, up to 5,000 remain in the city, living in makeshift camps or scattered across streets and the beach. The situation has triggered unrest in the autonomous city and become a significant crisis for Sánchez's government, with local residents holding near-daily protests demanding that migrants be returned to their countries of origin or redistributed elsewhere in Spain.
Wednesday's demonstrations were organised by city councils led by, or with strong support for, opposition parties — the conservative Partido Popular (PP) and the far-right Vox. Protesters called on Sánchez to step down. PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo attended the Madrid rally, where government figures put attendance at more than 50,000. He said a Spanish city had been "invaded and occupied" with the government's knowledge. Vox leader Santiago Abascal accused Sánchez of acting like a "lackey" of the Moroccan regime.
