The king asks Macron that the EU takes responsibility for the border with Ceuta

MadridEmmanuel Macron is one of the most influential leaders within the European Union, but, as the Americans would say, a truelame duck –who will no longer run in the French presidential elections of April 18, 2027, and who faces an extreme right led by Marine Le Pen that is leading the polls. Pedro Sánchez is not a lame duck because he will run again in the elections, but he is also at the end of his term, and with polls that give victory to the PP and Vox. In this context of mutual weakness, Emmanuel Macron will be in Spain this Tuesday and Wednesday on his last visit as President of the French Republic and with the idea of being a culmination of a progressive rapprochement between the two countries. In this context, King Felipe VI has asked him from the Royal Palace that the European Union take responsibility for the border with Ceuta.

"The countries that bear the most pressure due to being on the external border of the EU cannot face alone a responsibility that belongs to everyone," asserted the monarch, who described the massive entry of immigrants through the autonomous city from Morocco as "unacceptable." The Spanish head of state pointed out that "a Spanish border, which is also a European border" was violated, and that the crisis represents "a major challenge from the point of view of security, public order, and humanitarian issues."

The alliance between Macron and Sánchez has been sealed in many areas: from the historic signing of the friendship treaty between France and Spain –the Senate rejected it this Tuesday, but Congress will ratify it– to a common front on European agenda issues. Lately, to achieve regulation of social networks and artificial intelligence.

Macron's visit this week is more important in diplomatic terms than previous ones. The last one of this dimension was in 2009 with Nicolas Sarkozy, since it is a State visit. Macron was received this Tuesday by King Felipe VI at the Royal Palace of Madrid, with full honors. The French president, alongside his wife Brigitte Macron, arrived three-quarters of an hour late at the Plaza de la Armería of the Royal Palace of Madrid –they were supposed to arrive at 1:15 PM– and, alongside Felipe VI and Letizia, they headed to the honorary grandstand to listen to the anthems of Spain and France. At the official reception, there were also the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez; the presidents of the Congress and the Senate, Francina Armengol and Pedro Rollán, respectively, and the president of the Constitutional Court, Cándido Conde-Pumpido. Also present were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.

Subsequently, Macron and his wife moved to the Zarzuela Palace to have a private lunch with King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. Later, Macron participated in a dialogue with students from the Complutense University of Madrid about democracy and social media. The more economic and political content will be this Wednesday: they are scheduled to sign a commercial memorandum of understanding which will be presided over by the Spanish monarch himself, Felipe VI; and subsequently, he will have lunch with the Spanish Prime Minister at Moncloa. In the afternoon, they will hold a joint press conference.

Strengthening the France-Spain bilateral relationship

What is Macron's goal, then, in this visit? French sources indicate that the primary objective is to reaffirm the priority bilateral relationship that France wants to maintain with Spain, just as it maintains with other key partners of the European club like Germany and Italy. "The friendship treaty with France puts us on par with these states," point out PSOE sources linked to Foreign Affairs to highlight the importance of the treaty signed in Barcelona in 2023. In this sense, France views favorably that the Constitutional Court, after the challenge from the Senate, has endorsed the agreement, considering it legal for a French minister, in certain matters, to participate in the council of ministers, and vice versa.

The joint European agenda that Spain and France have will have special relevance during the visit: they intend, progressively, to make about fifteen joint declarations ranging from the digital sector to energy, the fight against disinformation, the common agricultural and fisheries policy, or in matters of the fight against drug trafficking. Both countries have pledged to ban the use of social networks for minors and are part of the group of relevant countries within the EU that lobbies in this regard. Furthermore, it is also expected that international challenges will be addressed, such as the effects of the war in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine.

The alliance that Sánchez and Macron have forged, then, is deep. It is no coincidence that France was one of the few European countries that, following the massive entry of migrants on July 30 in Ceuta, remained on the sidelines of the criticism of Spain. It did not sign the letter from 22 states led by Italy and Denmark in which they censored the migration policy, especially the regularization, of the Spanish government. French sources remark that they have expressed "solidarity" with Spain from the very first moment and that Macron will also do so during his visit.

Primary export market

Beyond political relations, the signing of the memorandum of understanding on trade is a sign of the importance of the economic link between the two countries. France is the primary export market for Spain (notably automobiles, as well as agri-food and chemical products) and its third-largest supplier; and Spain is one of France's top five trading partners. The commercial volume of sales and purchases is, therefore, high. Trade exchanges exceeded 94 billion euros in 2025, while bilateral investments also reached record levels. In 2024 (the year with the latest available data), the stock of Spanish investment in France exceeded 33.5 billion euros, while French investment in the country was 71 billion.

However, in economic terms, the relationship between France and Spain has recently been marked by controversies surrounding railway connections, but also energy issues. Regarding energy, it must first be taken into account that France has made a firm commitment to nuclear power, and this influences all its decisions, especially those related to the transmission of energy from Spain to Europe.

Both countries share ownership of the H2Med or BarMar, the maritime hydrogen pipeline designed to connect Barcelona with Marseille to boost hydrogen exports to Europe (the project has been included in the final list of projects of common interest eligible for European funding). In fact, a high-level meeting was scheduled for this September, together with Portugal and the Commission, to advance the project.

This common front, however, was not seen with MidCat, the gas pipeline that was to connect Catalonia with the neighboring country. Although different Spanish governments tried to push the project forward, France's blockade due to the complexity of building it beyond the Pyrenees, where there was strong local opposition, caused it to derail. In Catalonia, too, a part of society, especially the affected populations, opposed it.

At the same time, Spain has long been seeking to strengthen electrical interconnection with the country, especially from the Basque Country, to reach the minimum levels required by the EU.

Railway tensions

In railway terms, the great struggle (stalled for now) is the deployment of Renfe in France. Catalonia has seen the AVE that is supposed to connect Barcelona and Paris pass it by (for now). The railway project that was to connect the Catalan capital with the French one has been shelved after Renfe decided to renounce it as a result of the obstacles from the Gallic country that ended up being a burden for its culmination, initially scheduled for 2024. Last year, the Barcelona-Toulouse connection was also suspended.

The Spanish train operator has reported bureaucratic obstacles, as has the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, as well as a trade war by the French public company SNCF, its competitor. In any case, Renfe pointed out a few months ago that "it is not a definitive resignation; the project will be resumed when technical and operational conditions allow it". All this will hover over Macron's state visit to Madrid.