French Gendarmes control vehicles at the Spanish-French border between Irun and Hendaye on August 4, 2026, to check non-European nationals arriving from Spain, following the illegal entry last week of some 60,000 migrants from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Spain’s interior minister headed into a tense face-off with EU counterparts, as the bloc sought to draw lessons from an influx of migrants into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta in hastily arranged video talks. The unprecedented sight of an estimated 50,000 people streaming into Ceuta from Morocco — dozens died in the attempt and almost all have since left — exposed the fault lines on migration among EU nations. The number of police officers and gendarmes at the French-Spanish border has increased fivefold as of August 1, bringing the total to 334. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)
Spain has returned to Morocco 70,000 of 72,000 migrants who entered its north African territory of Ceuta last week, the interior minister said on Tuesday.
“We have reasonably established that 72,000 people irregularly entered Spain and 70,000 have already left,” Fernando Grande-Marlaska told a press conference in Madrid after a video call with EU counterparts, updating an earlier figure of 50,000 arrivals.
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