The Ceuta effect: how far will Europe's anti-migrant backlash go?
As the United States threatens Europe with more tariffs and eyes Greenland, Russia tests the continent’s resolve over Ukraine and the planet overheats, where do citizens feel the biggest threat is coming from? In her Wednesday state of the Union speech, the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen went big on manning the borders, suggesting new tools to better deal with migration. This comes against in a context of Ceuta where over two days in July, tens of thousands of mostly Moroccans overran Spain’s North African enclave.
A blame game ensued as well as a diplomatic row between Madrid’s Socialist-led government and Italian far-right leader Georgia Meloni. Then there was the return of border checks in places like Germany where the far-right’s again eyeing inroads in regional elections this coming weekend. Our panel will comment on some of Real Madrid’s top stars refusing a show of solidarity with Ceuta which they say could be misinterpreted as an anti-migrant message. What do Europeans want? And what does an aging population need?
Produced by François Picard, Théophile Vareille, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Delphine Liou.
Ceuta migrant clearance spirals into violence
Published 18 Sep, 2026 15:03 | Updated 19 Sep, 2026 02:50
Spanish police have begun moving thousands of migrants from makeshift beach camps in the North African exclave of Ceuta in an operation that has quickly descended into chaos, according to media reports.
Crowds surged toward temporary shelters as officers struggled to maintain control, firing rubber bullets into the air and using batons.
The operation began early on Friday, with riot police and the Spanish military deployed to clear the makeshift camps and escort migrants to a new port camp. The facility is the fifth temporary reception center opened in Ceuta and can accommodate around 1,800 people, while an estimated 4,000 migrants have been living on the beaches.
Footage from local media shows hundreds crowding the designated route, with some breaking into a run as officers struggled to control the group. Police fired rubber bullets into the air and struck several people with batons before the situation calmed and migrants continued towards the port under escort.
The port facility is intended for adult men, while minors are being housed separately. Three NGO representatives told Reuters that authorities had been too slow to provide the minimum shelter required under European migration rules and that existing reception centers remained insufficient.
Opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo accused the government of failing to maintain public order, while officials said additional locations would be needed to house migrants who cannot be accommodated at the port.
The crisis erupted after more than 72,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco on July 30 and 31, with the mass influx overwhelming Spanish border authorities. Most were subsequently returned, but thousands, including unaccompanied minors, have remained in the enclave.
The mass crossing has since fueled scrutiny of Madrid’s handling of the crisis. Declassified documents released by the Spanish government show that the National Intelligence Center (CNI) warned officials in Ceuta and Moroccan intelligence on July 29 about online calls for migrants to breach the border by land and sea the following day.
A separate Spanish military intelligence report issued once the influx was underway described Moroccan forces as “negligent and passive,” while Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has maintained that the earlier warnings did not indicate the scale or likelihood of what followed.
Morocco has denied facilitating the influx. In a statement on Thursday, its Foreign Ministry accused Spanish political groups and media of exploiting the crisis ahead of elections expected in 2027, saying: “Morocco refuses to be used as a pre-election pawn. Nor does it accept being the scapegoat for political score-settling.” Rabat has also questioned why Spain has not returned more irregular migrants despite its offer to readmit them.
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