Feijóo returns today to Ceuta amidst reports of a new attempt at massive entry

BarcelonaThe Spanish right and extreme right are committed to turning the crisis in Ceuta into the definitive blow to Pedro Sánchez's government. That is why the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will make his fourth visit to the autonomous city this Monday since the massive influx of migrants on July 30. And he will do so, furthermore, alongside the president of the European PP, Manfred Weber, with whom he will illustrate his calls to "Europeanize" the Spanish enclave in North Africa.

Feijóo, who will make this visit while Pedro Sánchez struggles to shift the week's media attention to the international stage and the dangers of AI, will land in Ceuta amid a climate of growing tension in the city – with protests and clashes this Sunday at the port – and rumors of a new attempt at a massive entry. As pointed out by Moroccan media such as Le Desk, the Spanish embassy in Morocco has warned of "calls for new attempts at massive entry on September 23 [this Wednesday], the day of the legislative elections" in Morocco.

In an interview this morning on Catalunya Ràdio, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, admitted that messages have been detected on social networks calling for people to take advantage of the focus of Moroccan police forces on the elections to cross the border, where Rabat is said to have reinforced the security deployment with at least 3,000 personnel, according to El País.

In this context, the embassy has reinforced its messages on social networks in recent days, warning that "entering Spain irregularly through Ceuta and Melilla does not grant the right to access the Peninsula, to remain in Spain, or to move freely through the EU." "Do not be fooled by disinformation," remarks the diplomatic mission's profile in a thread on Friday on X.

Albares has also admitted this reinforcement of the campaign against disinformation, both on social media and through the Moroccan press, but has stated that he does not believe that the messages calling for crossing the border are "taking hold." "There were already messages for August 15th and other dates," he said.

Predictably, this will be one of the messages that the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, will deliver today, who will also be in Ceuta this afternoon, where he will visit the temporary reception and migrant identification camp installed at the port, from where asylum or expulsion processes are to be handled.

Protests and clashes at the port

It remains to be seen what the reception for the minister will be after Feijóo's visit and in the midst of rising tension over the situation in the city. To go no further, dozens of people gathered on Sunday at the port to protest against the arrival of the group Derecho a Techo, which had announced it would travel to the city to offer humanitarian aid. And the protest ended in clashes with the police.

During the protest, several demonstrators threw eggs and stones at vehicles. One of the cars attacked was that of the Ceuta Ya! deputy Julia Ferreras, which was left destroyed. Ferreras has reported the events to the police, who intervened with riot police officers and fired rubber bullets into the air. Albares has condemned the assault on the deputy and has attributed the "violence" against the deputy to the "disinformation" and "manipulation" of the far-right.