Tens of thousands rally in Madrid over Ceuta migrant crisis as right accuses Sánchez of negligence

Tens of thousands of people rallied in Madrid on Saturday in a right-wing demonstration against the Spanish government’s handling of irregular migration and the recent migrant influx into the North African enclave of Ceuta.

The protest, organised by the right-wing civil society group Sociedad Civil Española and backed by the mainstream conservative People’s Party (PP) and the far-right Vox, drew 20,000 people according to the government — while organisers put the turnout at 180,000.

Demonstrators accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government of failing to protect Ceuta’s borders and called for an early election by mid-November; the next general election is not due until August 2027. Vox is demanding Sánchez be tried for treason. PP secretary-general Miguel Tellado said there was “a widespread feeling that the government has not acted responsibly; there has been a dereliction of duty, extreme negligence”, adding that “Spanish society has to take to the streets to ask the government to defend our territorial integrity”.

At the end of July, more than 70,000 migrants stormed into Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco; most were returned, but the Spanish government estimates 6,000 to 10,000 remain stranded. The July 30-31 surge produced unprecedented scenes and the deaths of dozens of migrants. Sánchez said on Tuesday that Moroccan border control had failed and that an investigation was under way. Vox leader Santiago Abascal is demanding the deportation of everyone who arrived in late July.

El País reported on Saturday that the government plans to approve a decree on Tuesday accelerating the return of migrants from Ceuta to Morocco. It was the second protest under the “March for Dignity” banner; the first, in late May, drew 40,000 people according to the government.

Sources

• Al Jazeera, “Tens of thousands attend right-wing protest over Ceuta migrant crisis” (26 September 2026): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/26/tens-of-thousands-attend-right-wing-protest-over-ceuta-migrant-crisis