Rabat – French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed France’s solidarity with Spain following the recent mass irregular migration into occupied Ceuta, saying Paris is prepared to provide assistance, including through the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).
In a statement on X, Macron said he had spoken with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to reaffirm France’s support and coordinate the response.
He also praised ongoing cooperation with Morocco, stating that it had already enabled the return of more than 40,000 people from Ceuta to Morocco.”I welcome the ongoing cooperation with Morocco, which has already enabled more than 40,000 returns from Ceuta to Morocco today,” wrote Macron
According to French broadcaster BFMTV, Macron instructed Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau to “take all appropriate measures” to strengthen controls along France’s border with Spain. The Élysée also said France stands ready to provide any assistance requested by the Spanish authorities, including through Frontex.
Macron said French and Spanish interior ministers remain in close contact to monitor the situation. He added that France has already deployed four mobile security units, aircraft, and drones to reinforce border controls if necessary, while noting that Ceuta is not part of the Schengen free movement area.
Read also: France Tightens Border Controls, Offers Support to Spain Over Ceuta Migration Surge
The French president said the latest measures build on border security initiatives introduced since 2020, including the doubling of security forces along the Spanish border, joint French-Spanish brigades, coordinated action against irregular migration, and reforms to the Schengen Borders Code adopted in 2024 to strengthen border checks.
Macron also pointed to recent EU migration policies, claiming irregular arrivals into the European Union fell by 25% last year, with further declines recorded along the Atlantic and western Mediterranean routes in 2026. He concluded by reaffirming France’s solidarity with Spain, its government, and its people.
The developments came as Finland and Denmark on Friday backed an Italian proposal to suspend Spain from the Schengen free movement area, arguing that Madrid had “completely failed” to protect the bloc’s external border following the arrival of thousands of migrants from Morocco. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, meanwhile, described the situation as “an attack” and “a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.”
Spanish authorities said at least 69,500 irregular migrants have left the Spanish enclave of Ceuta for Morocco in the last 30 hours. The authorities said they are continuing to search around the Tarajal border breakwater, as 60 bodies were recovered on the Ceuta coast in the aftermath of the mass crossings to the enclave. EFE, the Spanish news agency, reported the latest figures, quoting security sources. Most of the bodies that have been recovered were found in the sea.
