France to step up border controls with Spain as estimated ۴۹,۰۰۰ migrants cross into Ceuta – Europe live

Local police in Ceuta are fencing off the centre of the enclave as Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to visit in the coming hours, public broadcaster RTVE reported.

Sánchez is set to get there just before midday local time (۱۱am UK).

Spanish King Felipe VI spoke by telephone with prime minister Pedro Sánchez and Ceuta’s president Juan Jesús Vivas to discuss the unfolding crisis, the Royal Household said.

And France’s interior minister Laurent Nuñez has just said the government will do exactly that.

In a post on X, he said:

“In response to the situation observed in the Ceuta enclave, I gave instructions as of last night to immediately strengthen the controls at the Spanish border. Furthermore, I am activating the Rapid Intervention Border Force for in-depth checks.”

The crisis also prompted some strong reactions in France.

Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said:

“Faced with the massive and coordinated influx of migrants into Spain, encouraged by the Spanish government, France must without delay strengthen controls at its borders. And in ۲۰۲۷, we will put an end to this madness by reserving Schengen free movement for EU nationals.”

Former prime minister Michel Barnier struck a fairly similar tone:

“The European Union now has an essential tool thanks to the advances achieved by the @EPP & @fxbellamy in the European Parliament with the new return directive.

It is time to move from texts to action: every person in an irregular situation who is not meant to stay must be effectively returned.

France cannot suffer the consequences of its neighbours’ migration choices. If a Member State makes decisions that create a pull factor for migration, we must be able to immediately protect our borders, particularly with Spain.

Mastering immigration is a condition of sovereignty, security, and trust between European states. The rules exist: they must be applied firmly, in the interest of France and Europe.”

in Madrid

The opposition People’s party (PP) is calling on Sánchez to produce a swift and tough response, saying the small military and police reinforcements announced last night are insufficient.

The PP’s leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, is not dialling down his language.

“People have continued to arrive in Ceuta throughout the night, and those on the ground describe an occupied city, with nothing sufficient being done to prevent it,” he’s just posted on X.

“In Melilla, too, around ۴۰۰ irregulars have entered. I insist that Sánchez must defend our national security, our territorial integrity, and our coexistence.

As prime minister, he has instruments and means at his disposal, and all that remains is for him to give the orders.

As serious as what is happening is the fact that the Government is reacting with this weakness. All of Spain stands with Ceuta and Melilla.”

The far-right Vox party, meanwhile, is calling the influx “an invasion”.

۴۹,۰۰۰ people believed to cross into Ceuta, more than half of its population

Sam Jones

in Madrid

The Spanish interior ministry has just said that more than ۴۹,۰۰۰ people are believed to have swum or walked into Ceuta over the past ۲۴ hours.

That, obviously is a huge number, and dwarves the ۱۰,۰۰۰ people who entered the territory during the border crisis in ۲۰۲۱.

That mass crossing came amid heightened tensions between Madrid and Rabat over Spain’s decision to allow a western Sahara independence leader to be treated for Covid-۱۹ in Spain.

To give some perspective, the population of Ceuta is around ۸۵,۰۰۰.

The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is en route to Ceuta, where he is expected to visit the Tarajal border and speak to the media some time after midday local time.

Morning opening: Spain faces migration crisis in north African enclave of Ceuta

Jakub Krupa

At least ۱۸ people died as thousands of migrants breached the Spanish-Moroccan border in Ceuta yesterday, prompting concerns about a fresh migration crisis and questions over the implications for the European Union.

A spokesperson for the Guardia Civil force, which polices Spain’s borders, said ⁠the migrants were “massively entering from the sea” through the Tarajal breakwater, but could not provide an estimate of the numbers.

Spain’s interior minister said on Friday that it estimated some ۴۹,۰۰۰ migrants crossed into Ceuta over the past ۲۴ hours.

More people were reported crossing into the enclave over night, with Spanish media reporting “passivity” from the Moroccan police.

In response, the Spanish government is deploying extra troops and police officers to protect the border between the tiny African enclave and neighbouring Morocco. Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to visit the territory later today.

But the fresh migration crisis sparked also a conflict within the European Union as Italian authorities demanded Spain to be suspended from open border Schengen area until they restore control.

In a rare direct clash between two EU countries, Italy’s far-right prime minister Giorgia Meloni angrily said that pictures coming from Ceuta demonstrated that “uncontrolled illegal immigration poses a concrete threat to the security of Europe’s borders.”

“Italy will not stand by and watch. … We are prepared to intervene with extraordinary measures to defend the borders and the safety of citizens, including the suspension of the Schengen Area with Spain,” she said.

Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani backed her calls, saying he was in favour of Spain’s suspension, and linking the migration crisis with a recent decision with the Spanish government’s decision to regularise over ۵۰۰,۰۰۰ undocumented migrants resident in Spain.

In response, Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares said the Italian comments were “unbecoming of a foreign minister of a partner and friendly country” dismissing them as “partisan demagoguery,” and said he would summon the Italian ambassador to Madrid on Friday.

Instead, he linked the influx of migrants with a recent decision by Spain’s supreme court saying that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla could not be summarily returned under the enclaves’ special border rejection regime.

I will bring you all the updates as the day progresses.

It’s Friday, ۳۱ July ۲۰۲۶, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.