Spain’s leading far-right politician arrived in Ceuta on Sunday hours before anti-immigrant campaigners were set to hold a rally in the city, compounding political tensions after tens of thousands of migrants entered into Spanish territory from Morocco last week.
Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far-right Vox party, called the influx an “invasion” and an “act of war” by Morocco, but also blamed Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his pro-migrant policies for enabling the crisis.
“This is an act of war promoted by Morocco and tolerated and permitted by Pedro Sánchez in various ways,” Mr. Abascal said at a news conference in Ceuta. He added that local residents were within their rights to use “self-defense” if the government did not expel the remaining migrants.
Ceuta was peaceful on Sunday before the rally, with families strolling along the main shopping streets and people sipping tea at outdoor cafes.
Although most of the migrants have returned to Morocco, Ceuta was still grappling with the aftermath of at least 50,000 people, most of whom were young Moroccan men, crossing into the exclave late last week and overwhelming the city of 84,000 residents. At least 72 people died trying to cross the border, the Spanish government said on Sunday.
Soldiers searched alleys and plazas for young men who were hiding, while small groups on the outskirts of the city made for the hills surrounding Ceuta. A few hundred men from sub-Saharan Africa were holed up on a beach and vowed not to return, even as they were running out of food. In the city center, some businesses cautiously reopened, and families returned to the streets and beaches.
A 50-meter-long sea barrier has been installed near the border between Ceuta and Morocco. The crossing was empty except for about a dozen Spanish soldiers and a few local residents who were waiting in the sun for a taxi back to the city center.
Every 10 minutes or so, a group of three or four young Moroccans, looking exhausted, headed back to their country accompanied by a Spanish soldier.
But as the immediate crisis began to ease, the political fallout was only beginning. Opposition leaders and far-right politicians have arrived in Ceuta over recent days, portraying the influx as proof that Mr. Sánchez had lost control of the country’s borders and turning the crisis into a broader battle over immigration and national identity.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the main conservative opposition People’s Party, traveled to Ceuta on Saturday and blamed Mr. Sánchez for what he called the “occupation” of the city. But far-right figures were increasingly setting the more extreme tone of the political debate, presenting the situation in the city as evidence of what they described as the dangers of government policies.
The arrival of far-right activists and politicians in the city has provoked an angry reaction from some residents, many of whom are of Moroccan descent.
On Saturday evening, Alvise Pérez, a far-right Spanish politician and a member of the European Parliament who demanded the expulsion of the migrants, faced off against a crowd of residents who accused him of conflating migrants with Muslims and exploiting the crisis to advance his political career. As the crowd grew angrier, Mr. Pérez was forced to seek shelter in a bar and residents pounded on the windows. The police later escorted him away, drawing cheers from the crowd.
“Ceuta united,” they chanted, “will never be divided!”
Other far-right figures blamed the confrontation on “immigrants,” whom they accused of invading Spain. Vito Quiles, a prominent far-right commentator who was expected to to hold a demonstration in Ceuta on Sunday evening, said he would not allow “migrants” to drive him out of the city.
“A few of Mohammed VI’s fifth columnists are not going to be able to drive Spaniards out of their own land,” Mr. Quiles wrote Saturday on social media. “See you tomorrow to demand the expulsion of the invaders and Pedro Sánchez from Spain.”
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