Ceuta Day events held every year on September 2 for Spain’s North African city of Ceuta turned into demonstrations supporting the city and protesting the government this year. The actions, particularly in the capital Madrid and other major cities, were also supported by the main opposition center-right People’s Party and the far-right Vox.
Thousands of people attended the demonstrations, which were organized at the call of the Federation of Municipalities. Carrying Spanish flags, the demonstrators supported Ceuta remaining under Spanish sovereignty, called for a solution to the irregular migration crisis in the city and protested the minority left-wing coalition government’s handling of the crisis.
Chants calling for the government’s resignation were heard in the squares. The demonstrations were held after an irregular migrant influx in Ceuta approximately one month earlier.
Opposition calls for early elections
People’s Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of failing to ensure the country’s security and defend Spain’s territorial integrity. Feijóo claimed that the irregular migrant influx toward Ceuta was carried out from Morocco and that there were indications the operation had been coordinated by that country.
Feijóo also called for Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, whom he said had made statements defending the Moroccan administration, to resign and demanded that Sánchez immediately take the country to early elections.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal also accused Sánchez in strongly worded remarks at the demonstration in Madrid and claimed that the prime minister was serving the Moroccan administration.
Debate over the police report
A report published by the right-wing newspaper El Espanol became the focus of Spain’s political debate on the day of the demonstrations. The report, prepared by the police through the National Immigration and Border Center, warned on July 30 that tens of thousands of irregular migrants could make a mass entry into Ceuta and indicated that Moroccan security forces might have organized the process.
Prime Minister Sánchez and ministers from the Socialist Workers’ Party in the coalition government said they had received no warnings from intelligence agencies before the migrant influx and that there was no indication that the Moroccan administration was behind the events. The CENIF report and some images published on social media again brought forward claims that Moroccan security forces had organized the migrants.
Director General of Police Francisco Pardo announced that there was no police report attributing the planning or execution of the events in Ceuta on July 30 and 31 to Moroccan security forces. The announcement did not end the opposition’s calls for resignations.
Prime Minister Sánchez is expected to address the plenary session of Parliament regarding the events in Ceuta.
What happened in Ceuta?
On July 30 and 31, approximately 70,000 irregular migrants swam from the shores of Morocco’s Fnideq to Spain’s North African city of Ceuta. After the incident, the Spanish government mobilized its existing resources and decided to deploy the armed forces to the region to ensure security in response to the rise in irregular migration attempts.
The number of irregular migrants who died while attempting to cross from Morocco into Spain was announced as 88.
