Hundreds of Ceuta residents on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest against the Spanish government over its plans to shelter invading migrants in several local facilities and public sports centers.
The protest was organized by local communities who are fed up with the worsening living conditions left by the massive migrant invasion of the Spanish exclave and the central government’s handling of the ongoing crisis. While it reportedly conceived as a localized protest, it rapidly evolved into a much broader peaceful rally across the city.
Many of the protesters espoused chants against socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, calling him a “Son of a B***h” and calling for the expulsion of all of the thousands of remaining migrants that participated in the late July invasion of the Spanish exclave.
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Other protesters demanded legal repercussions for Spanish government officials, finding their handling of the crisis to be disastrous for the city.
Local outlets detailed that the peaceful demonstration first began outside the Fiscer military barracks after it was initially reported that the facility was under consideration by the Spanish government as a potential place to house the invading migrants.
Per the public broadcaster RTVE, although the barracks’ name did appear in a draft decree on the management of the Ceuta crisis, the military facility is not part of the migrant housing plans. The Spanish government, however, published a new decree on Wednesday morning designating five Ceuta sports centers and several state-owned facilities as eligible locations to house migrants.
According to Europapress, areas not currently in use by the Ministry of Defense at the Fiscer Barracks are not part of the decree.
Both El Faro de Ceuta, and El Español reported that more residents joined the peaceful protest outside the barracks as time went on — morphing the gathering into a much larger demonstration that marched across the streets of Ceuta in unison until they reached a local hotel.
El Pueblo de Ceuta further explained that the protestors believed that Spanish Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres was inside the hotel. However, according to El Pueblo, Torres had not yet arrived to the Spanish exclave at the time of the protest. Prime Minister Sánchez recently appointed Torress as the head of the government’s new unified task force to address the ongoing crisis.
Footage of the protest outside the hotel published by Ok Diario shows demonstrators chanting “Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta fights back,” calling Pedro Sánchez a “Son of a B***h,” and yelling, “Invaders, expulsion.” Some of the protesters also called for the resignation of government authorities, exclaiming “Long live Ceuta.”
The protesters reportedly departed from the hotel and continued the march across Ceuta towards Loma Colmenar, one of the neighborhoods most affected by migrant violence and crime in the aftermath of the invasion. Lastly, El Faro de Ceuta explained, the protesters headed towards the Sidi Embarek mosque after passing through several other locations.
Throughout the journey, the protesters held Spanish and Ceuta flags and expressed their fierce rejection to the continued presence of the thousands of illegal migrants that remain in the city.