Tens of thousands attend right-wing protest over Ceuta migrant crisis

Demonstrators are demanding early elections and accuse Pedro Sanchez’s government of negligence.Published On 26 Sep 202626 Sep 2026Thousands of people have rallied in the Spanish capital to protest the government’s policy on irregular migration and its handling of a recent migrant influx into the North African enclave of Ceuta.Saturday’s protest in Madrid was organised by right-wing civil society group Sociedad Civil Espanola and backed by the mainstream conservative People’s Party (PP) and far-right Vox.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Migrants ‘are not to blame’: How the Ceuta crisis engulfed Spanish footballlist 2 of 3How thousands of migrants stranded in Ceuta are survivinglist 3 of 3Humanitarian crisis worsens in Ceuta as thousands remain strandedend of listAccording to the government, 20,000 people attended, while protest organisers put the turnout at 180,000.At the end of July, more than 70,000 migrants stormed into the autonomous Spanish city of Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco, before most of them were returned. However, thousands remain stranded.Demonstrators accused Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his government of failing to protect the borders of Ceuta.The...