France announced stricter controls on its border with Spain following a massive surge of over 60,000 migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Morocco's coast. The influx, described as the largest one-day increase of migrants into the European Union, saw thousands of Africans storm the territory by land and sea on Thursday.
Spanish troops struggled to restore order in Ceuta, a territory measuring seven square miles and housing 84,000 residents. The situation has caused significant concern and friction among EU member states. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for Spain to be suspended from the EU's borderless Schengen zone, a move supported by Finland. She unilaterally suspended Italy's Schengen arrangements with Spain.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen deemed the influx "unacceptable" and urged Spain to regain control, stating that "dangerous crossings must stop immediately." Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk suggested Spain should bolster its borders as Poland has done with its border to Belarus, emphasizing that "if Schengen is to survive."
However, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez defended his country, noting that more migrants had entered the EU illegally via Italy, Greece, and the western Balkans in recent years. Speaking from Ceuta, Sanchez called the events an "attack on Spain" and stated his government was working to return the thousands of arrivals to Morocco. Speculation arose that Morocco may have facilitated the influx to exert diplomatic pressure on Spain. Haizam Amirah Fernandez, director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies in Madrid, suggested that such a large-scale movement "could not have taken place without the Moroccan authorities knowing about or without them allowing such a phenomenon to occur."
The surge occurred as border controls weakened. Thousands of young men swam from Morocco or breached fences. This followed a Spanish Supreme Court ruling last month that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla could not be immediately returned. Chaos also extended to Melilla, another Spanish territory in Morocco, with reports of warning shots fired across the border.
In the United Kingdom, Conservative and Reform UK politicians urged ministers to take immediate action to strengthen British borders. Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel suggested that some migrants would "inevitably try to make their way to the UK." Reform UK leader Nigel Farage warned of "thousands of young men, lots of them dangerous," heading toward the UK. Andy Burnham stated the situation was a "cause for concern" and that officials were in contact with Spanish counterparts. However, no immediate actions to reinforce Britain's borders were announced.
Dame Priti Patel called for strengthened procedures at the English Channel and Gibraltar. She warned that Spain's recent amnesty for illegal migrants had become a "magnet for migrants heading for Europe," potentially leading to more attempts to enter the UK illegally. Nigel Farage echoed this sentiment, stating that Spain's amnesty sent a message that "come in and you will be allowed to stay," and that Schengen facilitated an easy route to Calais, leading to future crossings of the English Channel.
Scenes in Ceuta were marked by violence, with locals reporting clashes and an overwhelming presence of migrants. Madrid residents protested outside Morocco's embassy, denouncing the event as a migrant "invasion." Prime Minister Sanchez blamed trafficking gangs for exploiting a Supreme Court ruling that had spread "like wildfire."