Spanish Senate blocks friendship treaty with France during Emmanuel Macron's state visit

Senate veto during state visit

On 29 September 2026, Spain's Senate voted against ratifying the bilateral Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with France. The vote occurred during French President Emmanuel Macron's two-day state visit to Madrid, where the conservative Popular Party (PP) exercised its absolute majority in the upper house to defeat the bill. Word of the rejection reached the Royal Palace thirty minutes before King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia hosted a state gala dinner for Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron. Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo did not attend the reception, citing scheduling conflicts, and delegated representation to parliamentary spokesperson Ester Muñoz. Senate President Pedro Rollán was also absent due to illness. Prior to the vote, PP leadership met with French Ambassador Kareen Rispal to outline its objections, criticizing the Spanish government for failing to consult the opposition on foreign policy.

Legislative hurdles and constitutional review

The treaty was signed on 23 January 2023 in Barcelona by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and President Macron. Ratification stalled in May 2025 when the Congress of Deputies rejected the text, marking the first time the lower chamber voted down a government-signed international treaty after the PP shifted from abstention to oppose it alongside Vox, while Junts and Podemos abstained. The primary political objection focused on Article 2.4, which provided for inviting a minister from one nation to attend the other's Council of Ministers at least once every three months on rotation. In April 2026, Spanish and French foreign ministries agreed on an interpretative clarification stating that visiting ministers would only attend separate ad-hoc meetings on the margins of cabinet sessions. This change enabled the Congress of Deputies to pass the treaty in June 2026. On 23 September 2026, Spain's Constitutional Court dismissed a legal challenge brought forward through the Senate, ruling that the clarified text complies with the Spanish Constitution.

Energy interconnections and political friction

In addition to concerns over cabinet confidentiality, the PP justified its veto by citing the exclusion of energy infrastructure from the treaty text. Conservative leaders argued that the agreement should have included formal commitments to expand cross-border electrical and natural gas interconnections to prevent the Iberian Peninsula from remaining energy-isolated from the rest of Europe. The French parliament previously approved the treaty in committee despite domestic opposition from Jean-Luc Mélenchon's La France Insoumise and Marine Le Pen's party. The Senate vote in Madrid also followed broader diplomatic coordination, with France having declined in August to sign a joint European letter criticizing Spain regarding migration events in Ceuta.

Reactions from Madrid and Paris

At a joint press conference in Madrid on 30 September 2026, Sánchez apologized to the French president for the Senate vote and criticized the conservative vote.

“I can only apologize for this vote.”

Macron described the defeat as a setback rather than a drama, noting that he respected the vote while maintaining support for the treaty.

“I can only deplore yesterday's vote while respecting it.”

Macron concluded the visit on Wednesday evening with a reciprocal reception for the Spanish monarchs at the French Embassy residence on Calle Serrano. Sánchez stated that he plans to secure parliamentary ratification before the current Spanish legislative term concludes in summer 2027. France already maintains comparable friendship treaties with Germany, Italy, and Poland, while Spain has similar pacts with Portugal and Morocco.