Ceuta was attempting to restore ordinary life on Sunday after an extraordinary mass crossing from neighbouring Morocco temporarily transformed the small Spanish territory into the centre of one of Europe’s most serious migration emergencies in recent years.
Restaurants and open-air terraces began receiving customers again, families returned cautiously to public spaces and retailers raised shutters that had remained closed during the most chaotic hours of the crisis. The streets no longer contained the vast crowds seen after the crossing began on Thursday, but an extensive police and military presence remained visible throughout the city.
Spanish officials said most of the estimated 50,000 to 60,000 people who entered Ceuta had returned to Morocco. The exact number still inside the territory was unclear, however, because people had moved repeatedly between beaches, residential districts, wooded hills and areas close to the frontier. Some were taken by bus towards the border to facilitate their departure, while others continued trying to avoid identification in the hope of remaining in Spanish territory.
The scale of the movement was exceptional for a city with a permanent population of approximately 84,000. During the peak of the emergency, the number of new arrivals increased Ceuta’s population by more than half and overwhelmed facilities designed to manage far smaller numbers.
Government delegate Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano said the situation on Sunday was substantially different from the first 24 hours of the crisis, but acknowledged that humanitarian resources had been exceeded. The Spanish government was working with the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, the Red Cross and local authorities to distribute water and basic supplies while processing those who remained.
Nearly 3,000 members of Spain’s security forces and armed forces were deployed in and around Ceuta. Pérez Triano said they would remain for as long as necessary, reflecting official concern that further groups could attempt to cross or that tensions inside the city could deteriorate.
The immediate humanitarian consequences continued to emerge along the coastline. Spanish authorities placed the death toll at 72 on Sunday after additional bodies were recovered from the sea and coastal areas. Many of the victims were believed to have drowned while attempting to swim around barriers separating Morocco from Spanish territory. Others were reported to have died amid the crushing pressure and panic surrounding attempts to cross the breakwater at El Tarajal.
Search operations continued in waters near the border beaches, raising the possibility that the toll could change. Establishing a definitive count was complicated by the geographical division of rescue and recovery operations between Spanish and Moroccan territory, as well as by the absence of identification documents for some victims.
Morocco’s Interior Ministry separately confirmed 11 deaths, including 10 people who drowned and one who died after falling in a rocky area near Ceuta. Moroccan authorities said they were coordinating with Spain to verify the number of casualties, identify those affected and complete the necessary legal and humanitarian procedures. The Spanish and Moroccan figures were not presented as directly additive and may include cases requiring further reconciliation.
In neighbourhoods across Ceuta, the practical recovery was accompanied by lingering anxiety. Residents described a sense of abandonment during the initial surge, when shops closed, food and water became difficult to obtain in some areas and thousands of exhausted people moved through streets, parks and commercial districts.
The Ceuta business confederation encouraged companies to reopen cautiously as security reinforcements were established at strategic locations. Commercial representatives appealed for calm and urged residents to support local businesses, many of which had lost several days of trade during the height of the emergency.
Some supermarkets, small grocery stores and cafés had attempted to remain open during the crossing but closed after large groups gathered outside seeking food and water. Shopping centres also suspended operations as managers concluded that private security personnel could not safely control the crowds.
By Sunday, cafés were operating again and residents could be seen walking with children or pets. The visible return of customers provided signs of recovery, but many people remained reluctant to describe conditions as normal. Concern persisted over migrants believed to be sheltering in surrounding terrain, uncertainty about further crossings and the possibility of confrontation between rival political groups.
The aftermath has intensified criticism of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the conservative People’s Party, disputed official descriptions of a return to normality, saying conditions on the streets demonstrated that the crisis had not ended. He demanded continued action on humanitarian, security and public-order grounds and called for measures to prevent a repetition.
Ceuta’s regional president, Juan Jesús Vivas, had warned before the largest crossing that local reception systems were already under exceptional pressure. On July 29, he proposed examining the creation of a unified command structure to coordinate the national government, city authorities, police, military personnel and humanitarian agencies.
Vivas said a recent Spanish Supreme Court interpretation concerning border returns had changed the operating environment for authorities dealing with people arriving by sea. He argued that the legal position restricted the immediate return of some migrants and required both emergency resources and possible legislative changes.
The court issue subsequently became central to competing explanations for the mass crossing. Moroccan authorities said misleading online claims about recent Spanish judicial decisions had encouraged people to believe they could enter Ceuta without facing an immediate return. Rabat also blamed human-trafficking organisations and what it described as malicious exploitation of digital platforms.
Morocco insisted that it had acted responsibly, increasing surveillance and mobilising security services to protect lives and restore public order. It presented itself as a reliable migration partner and called for shared responsibility between countries on opposite sides of the Mediterranean.
Those statements did not eliminate suspicions in Spain that Moroccan border controls had been relaxed before or during the crossing. The speed and scale of the movement prompted questions about how tens of thousands of people were able to approach the frontier and coastal barrier without earlier intervention.
Spanish officials said they had received no specific advance warning capable of predicting an influx on such a scale. Local leaders and security representatives nevertheless argued that there had been visible signs of increasing pressure before the mass movement, including rising numbers of people trying to swim into Ceuta.
Relations between Madrid and Rabat have repeatedly been affected by migration, Western Sahara and Spain’s ties with Algeria. Ceuta and the nearby Spanish territory of Melilla are particularly sensitive because Morocco considers Spain’s presence on the North African coast a historical territorial issue, while Spain regards both cities as integral parts of the country.
Neither government had provided evidence by Sunday proving that the crossing was organised as an act of diplomatic pressure. Spanish authorities continued cooperating with Morocco on returns, while Rabat publicly denied failing in its border responsibilities. The contrasting accounts nevertheless reinforced political mistrust and ensured that the cause of the surge remained contested.
Inside Ceuta, the most visible political tensions involved visits by far-right politicians and influencers. Their presence brought national ideological disputes into a city still processing the human and economic effects of the crossing.
Alvise Pérez, a far-right member of the European Parliament, called for migrants to be expelled during a visit on Saturday. His appearance prompted an angry counterdemonstration involving residents, including members of Ceuta’s large Muslim population. Police eventually escorted Pérez from the area after he took shelter inside a business while protesters gathered outside.
Santiago Abascal, leader of the Vox party, visited Ceuta on Sunday and described the crossing as an invasion. He accused the national government of failing to defend Spain’s borders and presented the crisis as evidence that the Sánchez administration’s migration policies had weakened national security.
The government delegate in Ceuta condemned the arrival of far-right groups that he said were attempting to use local hardship to spread fear, hatred and division. He stressed that Ceuta’s identity was based on coexistence, diversity and mutual respect and argued that outside political activists should not exploit the concerns of residents.
The dispute reflects the distinctive social character of Ceuta. The city is home to substantial Christian and Muslim communities as well as Jewish and Hindu residents. Local institutions regularly present this coexistence as one of the territory’s defining strengths, although economic inequality, border politics and competing national identities have periodically generated tension.
Some residents expressed sympathy for the mainly young migrants, arguing that they had been encouraged by false information and desperation rather than hostility towards Ceuta. Others said the sheer scale of the crossing had exposed them to unacceptable insecurity and demonstrated that the border could not be adequately defended.
The apparent discipline of many arrivals did not eliminate the strain caused by their presence. Even without widespread serious violence, the sudden arrival of tens of thousands of people created shortages, blocked roads, saturated public spaces and forced emergency services to prioritise immediate humanitarian needs.
Particular concern surrounded children and teenagers who may have crossed without parents or guardians. Ceuta’s facilities for unaccompanied minors were already under pressure before the latest emergency, and authorities faced the difficult task of determining ages, identities and family connections while complying with child-protection requirements.
Spain is expected to accelerate administrative procedures for adults who entered irregularly, including returns where legally permitted. Officials have not provided a final number of asylum applications, minors or people who may qualify for additional protection. Each category requires a different legal process, making rapid collective removal difficult even when political leaders demand it.
Human-rights organisations have warned that border enforcement must not override the right to seek asylum, the prohibition against collective expulsions or the obligation to protect minors. At the same time, local authorities argue that Ceuta cannot be expected to absorb migration flows disproportionate to its population and infrastructure.
The crisis has also intensified the wider European debate over responsibility for protecting the European Union’s external borders. Several governments criticised Spain’s handling of the crossing, while Madrid argued that Ceuta’s position made the emergency a European rather than exclusively Spanish challenge.
Spanish officials have rejected unilateral responses that treat travellers from Spain as a security threat or imply that migrants in Ceuta can immediately move without restriction throughout Europe. Ceuta is outside the passport-free Schengen travel area, and movement from the territory to mainland Spain is subject to controls.
The longer-term consequences will depend partly on whether Spain and Morocco can restore confidence in joint border management. Cooperation between the two countries is essential because the land frontier, nearby towns and coastal approaches cannot be managed effectively by Spanish forces alone.
Authorities must also determine how misinformation spread so quickly and why it was persuasive enough to mobilise such a large number of people. Reports from Morocco indicated that many young people believed social-media claims suggesting that Spanish law had created a temporary opportunity to enter and remain in Europe.
Trafficking and smuggling networks may have amplified those messages, but the migration attempt also reflected deeper economic and social pressures in northern Morocco. Many participants were reportedly young people frustrated by unemployment, limited prospects and the belief that European entry offered a route to work and financial security.
The deaths demonstrated the risks created when rumours, desperation and inadequate crowd control converge at a fortified border. Survivors described dangerous swimming conditions, physical exhaustion and panic near the barriers. Families in Morocco continued searching for relatives who had not returned and whose names did not appear on confirmed casualty lists.
For Ceuta, recovery involves more than removing debris from beaches, reopening businesses and reducing the visible security presence. Local leaders must restore confidence that institutions can manage another emergency while preventing the crisis from deepening divisions among residents.
The city remained calmer by Sunday evening, but the deployment of thousands of security personnel, continued searches at sea and unresolved political accusations showed that the emergency had entered a new phase rather than fully ended. The immediate movement of people had slowed, yet questions over accountability, border law, humanitarian protection and relations with Morocco were only beginning to be addressed.
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