{"id":5180,"date":"2026-08-02T13:16:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T12:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/?p=5180"},"modified":"2026-08-02T13:17:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T12:17:04","slug":"french-journalist-disputes-claims-morocco-orchestrated-ceuta-mass-crossings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/french-journalist-disputes-claims-morocco-orchestrated-ceuta-mass-crossings\/","title":{"rendered":"French journalist disputes claims Morocco orchestrated Ceuta mass crossings"},"content":{"rendered":"

French journalist and political communications adviser Fran\u00e7oise Degois has challenged allegations that Ceuta mass crossings<\/strong> were deliberately orchestrated by Morocco to pressure Spain. She argued that such claims ignore the broader political and historical context surrounding relations between Rabat and Madrid.<\/p>\n

Writing on X, Degois questioned the logic behind suggestions that Morocco would intentionally trigger a migration crisis on Throne Day, one of the country’s most significant national celebrations. She said it would be difficult to believe that King Mohammed VI would undermine such an important occasion or damage Morocco’s own strategic interests.<\/p>\n

The journalist also cast doubt on the origins of the narrative, asking who first circulated rumors on social media, particularly on TikTok, and who benefited from algorithms that amplified them into widely accepted claims. She suggested the rapid spread of these narratives deserved closer scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Degois noted that Spain, under Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez, has spent years working to dismantle criminal networks that exploit the special trading status of the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. According to her, creating disorder in Ceuta would also divert security forces and emergency services from other priorities.<\/p>\n

Her remarks come as narratives promoted by far-right political figures and commentators continue to circulate despite repeated statements from Spanish authorities highlighting Morocco’s cooperation during the migration crisis.<\/p>\n

Madrid was among the first governments to publicly thank Morocco for its assistance in managing the situation. The two countries quickly agreed to facilitate the return of migrants who entered Ceuta irregularly, while Morocco reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening border management and bilateral cooperation.<\/p>\n

The coordinated response by Rabat and Madrid has been presented by both governments as evidence of their close partnership, contradicting claims that Morocco used migration as political leverage. Some online narratives went further by alleging, without official evidence, that the crisis formed part of a broader geopolitical strategy linked to Spain’s position on Palestine.<\/p>\n

Spanish authorities reported that more than 69,000 people returned from Ceuta, with many choosing to return voluntarily. At the same time, migrants interviewed by local media described violence and mistreatment after entering the enclave, while reports of missing persons submitted by relatives have continued to increase.<\/p>\n

Morocco and Spain have significantly strengthened their diplomatic and economic ties in recent years. Bilateral trade exceeded \u20ac22.7 billion in 2024, with Spanish exports to Morocco reaching \u20ac12.86 billion and Moroccan exports to Spain totaling \u20ac9.83 billion.<\/p>\n

Relations also deepened after Spain endorsed Morocco’s Autonomy Plan in 2022 as the most credible, serious and realistic basis for resolving the Sahara dispute. Both governments continue to describe migration management as one of the pillars of their strategic partnership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

French journalist and political communications adviser Fran\u00e7oise Degois has challenged allegations that Ceuta mass crossings…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2052,4552,264,273],"class_list":["post-5180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-border-security","tag-irregular-migration","tag-morocco","tag-spain"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5180"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5183,"href":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5180\/revisions\/5183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawaya24.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}