Forty-nine thousand crossings in 24 hours. Images from Ceuta, the border that cannot hold

Twenty-four hours, forty-nine thousand people. That is the tally of those who, since late yesterday afternoon, have reshaped the human geography of Ceuta, the Spanish exclave on the North African coast. The figure, released by ministerial sources but not yet officially confirmed by Madrid, amounts to more than half of the 85,000 inhabitants of the autonomous city. Among those who have arrived are at least seven thousand minors.

The influx began following a temporary easing of Moroccan border controls. Thousands of people crossed the land border in the Tarajal industrial area, south-east of the exclave, whilst others attempted to swim across. Eighteen bodies were recovered from the sea by the Civil Guard, whilst the total number of migrants who have drowned off the coast of Ceuta this year has risen to forty-four, close to the total figure for 2025.

Rabat responded by reinforcing police cordons in Fnideq, deploying riot control equipment and water cannons. Clashes involving stone-throwing were also reported in Melilla, where around four hundred people managed to enter during the night: the city’s mayor, Juan José Imbroda, described this as a ‘knock-on effect’. The Beni-Enzar border crossing remains closed, with serious repercussions for ‘Operation Passage across the Strait’, the summer scheme regulating the movement of Maghreb citizens between Europe and Morocco.

The Sánchez government has mobilised the army to support the Civil Guard. The Prime Minister is due to arrive in Tarajal today for a meeting with senior security officials and the president of the exclave, Juan Jesús Vivas. Madrid has promised to repatriate new arrivals in accordance with bilateral agreements already in force with Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal, distinguishing between procedures for adults and minors.

The crisis has opened a diplomatic front with Italy. Sources at Palazzo Chigi indicated yesterday that Rome is considering suspending the Schengen Agreement with Spain. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani spoke of a misguided decision by Madrid and a security threat linked to uncontrolled immigration. The Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, described those remarks as “unworthy” and summoned the Italian ambassador, Giuseppe Buccino Grimaldi, in protest.

Since 1995, Ceuta and Melilla have remained the European Union’s only land borders in Africa: two Spanish exclaves surrounded by multiple barriers, CCTV cameras and sensors, serving as a symbolic as well as physical point of arrival for those attempting to reach Europe. The current crisis is not the first of its kind: episodes of mass crossings have already occurred in recent years, fuelled by recurring diplomatic tensions between Madrid and Rabat over the issue of Western Sahara, which have often led to a relaxation of Moroccan border controls.