Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered across Spain on Wednesday in support of Ceuta and against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s handling of the migrant crisis, with large rallies reported in Madrid, Seville, Malaga and other cities before late-night clashes near Spain’s Congress led to arrests and police injuries.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A wave of demonstrations swept across Spain on Wednesday as protesters rallied in support of Ceuta and condemned Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s handling of the migrant crisis that has gripped the North African exclave since late July.
Hundreds of thousands of people took part in peaceful gatherings across major cities, with protests reported in more than 300 municipalities and with significant participation in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Malaga, Toledo, Tenerife, Valladolid and Zaragoza.
The demonstrations were organized by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, or FEMP, and deliberately scheduled for Sept. 2, the date on which Ceuta marks its annual city day.
While estimates varied sharply between organizers, local authorities and national government representatives, the Madrid demonstration emerged as the largest single gathering of the day.
According to El Mundo, Madrid’s local government estimated that approximately 150,000 people filled Cibeles Plaza.
Spanish government representatives offered a much lower estimate of about 50,000.
The protests were politically charged from the outset.
Participants repeatedly called for Sánchez to resign and accused his Socialist government of failing Ceuta during the influx of migrants that entered the city in late July.
Protesters also adopted slogans that had already become common during demonstrations in Ceuta, including “Ceuta is not for sale,” “Ceuta is not alone,” and “All Spain for Ceuta.”
Some demonstrators also repeated an insult directed at Sánchez that had been heard during earlier Ceuta protests, calling the prime minister a “son of a b***h,” according to Spanish reporting.
Political divisions surrounding the rallies were evident as well.
The ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, or PSOE, characterized the demonstrations as “partisan” and discouraged participation, according to El Mundo.
The center-right People’s Party, meanwhile, said it documented 1,996 separate demonstrations Wednesday, including 72 held outside town halls controlled by Socialist officials.
Footage from Madrid showed Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida participating in the gathering.
Among the most prominent political figures at the Madrid demonstration was Santiago Abascal, leader of the anti-mass-migration Vox party.
Abascal said Vox stood with Ceuta and accused the Sánchez government of abandoning the city’s residents.
He described Ceuta’s population as having been “abandoned and betrayed” by Sánchez and warned that the situation there could become the “future” of other Spanish cities if “we do not rise up to remedy it.”
Abascal also called Sánchez a “traitor” serving foreign governments and said the prime minister’s continued hold on power represented an “authentic threat” to Spain.
People’s Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo issued a similar political denunciation while sharing images of the nationwide demonstrations.
“The dignity that Pedro Sánchez lacks is held by the citizens of this country, thrown into the streets to protect the Nation.” Núñez Feijóo wrote. “The defense of our borders and of our compatriots we will carry out together, all Spaniards. Long live Ceuta. And long live Spain.”
Outside Madrid, tens of thousands more participated in demonstrations across the country.
Europa Press reported that approximately 40,000 people gathered in Seville, 50,000 in Malaga and 25,000 in Zaragoza.
Video from the nationwide demonstrations showed crowds filling public squares in multiple Spanish cities.
Most of Wednesday’s demonstrations remained peaceful, but disturbances developed later in Madrid near the Congress of Deputies.
Spanish media reported clashes between police and a group of protesters during the late-night hours.
Officers dispersed the crowd using tear gas and rubber projectiles.
El Mundo reported that four people were detained, including two minors, and that four police officers were injured.
The protests occurred amid escalating political controversy over what led to the mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta.
Hours before the nationwide demonstrations, reports emerged concerning a Spanish National Police report that allegedly accused Moroccan agents of helping coordinate the late July movement of migrants into the exclave.
The allegations directly challenge repeated claims by Sánchez’s government that authorities in Rabat were not responsible for orchestrating the episode.
Ceuta has remained under intense political and social pressure since thousands of migrants entered the city, with local residents repeatedly staging demonstrations over public order, border security and the continuing presence of migrants who have not left the territory.
Wednesday’s rallies transformed what had largely been a local crisis into a national political confrontation.
The turnout across hundreds of Spanish municipalities showed that anger over Ceuta has spread well beyond the exclave itself, while the participation of leading opposition politicians made Sánchez’s immigration and border policies an increasingly prominent national issue.
The scale of the protests, conflicting turnout estimates and late-night clashes in Madrid also underscored the widening divide between the Socialist government and its opponents as the unresolved situation in Ceuta continues to dominate Spanish political debate.
Ceuta itself joined the national protest movement in force.
More than 30,000 residents marched through the city, according to El Faro de Ceuta, renewing demands for authorities to resolve the migrant crisis and remove migrants who remain in the territory following the late July arrivals.
The demonstrations in Ceuta have been notable for participation across the city’s different religious communities.
Members of Ceuta’s multi-faith population again marched together Wednesday, with the gathering presented locally as a demonstration of unity around the defense of the city and its residents.
Juan Jesús Vivas, who heads Ceuta’s local government, reportedly joined protesters at the front of the march.
Footage from Ceuta showed large crowds moving through the streets during the demonstration.
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