Ceuta was on edge last night as thousands of residents converged on the city centre, angry at Madrid over a migrant crisis they say has pushed their home to breaking point.
Tension has been growing since more than 70,000 migrants poured into the small Spanish enclave from Morocco in just days earlier this month, with thousands remaining as frustrated locals say services are overwhelmed.
Crowds walked in from estates across the city and packed the Plaza de los Reyes, Spanish flags raised, chanting that their city “Ceuta is not for sale, defend Ceuta”, not sold.”
A strong police presence surrounded the Government Delegation, where ministers Ángel Víctor Torres and Elma Saiz told reporters that sports halls would not be used as migrant shelters and that a decree would be amended to include “other spaces,” without specifying any.
Outside, the crowd directed its anger at anything linked to the central government. One healthcare worker held a sign reading “Ceuta is not a CETI” – a Centro de Estancia Temporal de Inmigrantes or a temporary migrant reception centre.
Ceuta media, El Faro de Ceuta this morning
Locals said beaches and schools had been taken over in recent weeks and warned they would return the following nights.
There were moments of clear tension. A Televisión Española crew and another from Cuatro were surrounded, shoved and forced to abandon their live broadcast.
Later, as the march moved through the city, protesters spotted a group of young North Africans filming from a distance.
The chant of “a por ellos, a por ellos” broke out as a shouted call meaning “go get them” and signalling an intent to move towards the youths.
Riot police stepped in before a chase could develop.
As night fell, part of the crowd moved towards El Trampolín, the beach where cane huts had sheltered thousands of migrants earlier in the summer. Police vans blocked access at nearby Playa Benítez.
Some protesters smashed beach umbrellas that migrants still sleeping rough used as makeshift shelters. Dispersal shots were heard.
A man with a megaphone called for a “human chain” to “take them all out” if migrants were not repatriated by 2 September. Many fear the situation will escalate long before then.
Many residents said the mood in the city had shifted noticeably over the past month, with frustration hardening into a sense that they no longer believed official assurances.
Several told reporters they felt basic routines such as school runs, weekend beach trips, even walking through the centre at night had been disrupted, and that Madrid’s lack of clear information had fuelled speculation and anger.
Community groups warned that unless the government sets out a firm plan for accommodation and repatriation, further confrontations are likely.
This morning, local media reported that “four soldiers were injured after being ambushed by a group of 30 to 40 migrants,” who forced the soldiers to abandon their vehicle and then beat them.
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