Migrants walk towards the Fnideq region in northern Morocco after leaving Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta near the town of Fnideq, on the Morocco-Spain border, following an attempted to cross at the Bab Sebta border crossing, on the Morocco-Spain border on Aug. 1, 2026. (AFP)
France and Italy tightened checks on travelers arriving from Spain on Aug. 1 after as many as 60,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, triggering a humanitarian and political crisis.
At least 57 people died while attempting the crossing, some by drowning and others in a stampede near a border barrier, according to the latest figures.
Ceuta’s regional president, Juan Jesus Vivas, estimated that around 60,000 people had entered the enclave. Spain’s Interior Ministry put the number at about 50,000 and said 48,300 had returned to Morocco by Friday evening.
Many reached Ceuta by swimming around a border barrier extending into the Mediterranean.
France increased the number of police and gendarmes reinforcing its border with Spain fivefold to 334. It also stepped up drone surveillance and patrols along rail routes connecting the two countries.
Italy introduced temporary checks on non-EU nationals arriving from Spain by air and sea. The measure does not restrict the free movement rights of EU citizens.
Rome had also called for Spain’s suspension from the Schengen free-movement zone, a proposal backed by Finland and Denmark. Legal experts told AFP that such a step could not be implemented under current EU rules.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the integrity of the Schengen zone remained “guaranteed,” noting that travelers cannot move from Ceuta or Spain’s other North African enclave, Melilla, to the mainland without passing police checks.
Madrid deployed troops, additional police, drones, divers and boats to Ceuta. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his interior minister visited the enclave on Friday.
Sanchez blamed human-trafficking networks for spreading misleading accounts of a recent Supreme Court ruling limiting the immediate return of irregular migrants intercepted at sea.
Shops remained closed and annual festivities were canceled as soldiers and police patrolled the city. AFP journalists saw dozens of migrants sleeping on beaches overnight, while others returned to Morocco through the border crossing.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the scenes in Ceuta “unacceptable” and said dangerous crossings must stop and returns should be carried out swiftly under EU rules.
Ceuta and Melilla form the European Union’s only land borders with Africa. In 2021, more than 10,000 migrants entered Ceuta over two days during a diplomatic dispute between Spain and Morocco.
