Bardella backs Abascal in Madrid, blames Sánchez's migration policy for Ceuta crisis

Ceuta visit on National Day

Jordan Bardella and Santiago Abascal visited Ceuta on Monday, 12 October, Spain's National Day. Abascal said it was his second visit since the mass entry of migrants on 30 July, and 20 Minutos reported that almost 80,000 people arrived in the city that day. Bardella described "very serious disorder" in Ceuta, with the Spanish population "confined to their homes". Abascal said Bardella's presence in the city "says something very important" to Spaniards and Europeans, and argued:

The southern border of Spain is also the southern border of France, it is the southern border of Europe.

Abascal also said he skipped the authorities' stand at the National Day ceremony for the second year running, because he cannot share it "with those who have betrayed Spain".

Regularisation and the pull effect

Abascal said the mass regularisations carried out by Pedro Sánchez's government are "also a European issue", claiming they brought "the collapse of housing and healthcare" and "a terrible pull effect that still persists today". Bardella made the same argument, saying the regularisation announced by the government had a "very important, grave and irresponsible" pull effect on Spain and on all its European partners. Accounts of Bardella's remarks differ on scale: one has him speaking of "hundreds of thousands" of irregular foreigners regularised, another of almost one million. He also suggested that the mass arrival in Ceuta was driven by this pull effect, and argued that under Schengen a foreigner regularised in Spain can move freely through the rest of the EU.

Schengen and EU treaty proposals

Bardella said that if his party takes power it would propose reforming the Schengen agreement so that free movement is limited to EU citizens, and that foreigners with legal residence in one EU country could not travel to another without a visa. He also proposed amending the EU treaty to strengthen the European Council, where national governments sit, and to reduce the powers of the European Commission, which answers to the European Parliament. The Schengen proposal, he said, would form part of his programme for the French presidential election in 2027. Toward migration-origin countries, he called for "clear negotiation" to secure control of flows, pointing to French development aid and visas for African and Maghreb countries and to some leaders receiving health care in France. He also backed a Mediterranean space of security and cooperation to regulate immigration, an idea he said he hoped to take up again.

Neither Spain, nor France, nor Europe will abandon the people of Ceuta.

Breakfast in Madrid and the alliance

On Tuesday, 13 October, Bardella spoke at a breakfast briefing organised by Nueva Economía Forum in Madrid, where Abascal introduced him as "the next prime minister of France". Abascal said that was "not a wish" but what appeared set to happen. Bardella spoke in Spanish, which surprised the audience, and offered "words of friendship" to Abascal, saying he was convinced they could keep talking and working together. He called Vox "my ally" and wished Abascal well:

I wish you the best for the coming weeks.

Abascal said that with Marine Le Pen at the Élysée and Bardella at Matignon, Spain would have in Paris an opportunity for a "great alliance" on essentials. Both Vox and Agrupación Nacional sit in the Patriots group in the European Parliament, and Herman Tertsch and Jorge Buxadé stood beside Abascal during the speech.

1. Jul 30, 2026Mass entry of migrants into Ceuta, almost 80,000 people arrive
2. Oct 12, 2026Abascal and Bardella visit Ceuta on National Day
3. Oct 13, 2026Bardella speaks at a Nueva Economía Forum breakfast in Madrid
4. Nov 29, 2026Spanish general election
5. Apr 18, 2027First round of the French presidential election
6. May 2, 2027Second round of the French presidential election

Upcoming votes

Spain holds general elections on 29 November, and Bardella said Spaniards would judge Pedro Sánchez's management of migration severely at the polls. In France, the presidential election has two rounds, and Bardella said he would become head of government in May 2027 if Marine Le Pen wins. The first round is scheduled for 18 April 2027 and the runoff for 2 May 2027.