Spanish Congress Speaker Expels PP Deputy Ana Vázquez for Displaying Pepper Spray
Congress President Francina Armengol expelled Popular Party lawmaker Ana Belén Vázquez after she displayed a pepper spray canister during a debate on Ceuta security.
Clash during government control session
Tension escalated in Spain's Congress of Deputies on Wednesday morning during a government control session focused on the border situation in Ceuta. Popular Party lawmaker Ana Belén Vázquez, who serves as her party's spokesperson on the Interior Commission, questioned Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska during a session held in the absence of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Vázquez criticized the government's security management following the mass entry of migrants into the autonomous city on 30 and 31 July. During her intervention, she displayed a 30-millilitre canister of pepper spray from her seat, presenting it as basic school material and a symbol of diminished safety for local residents and students.
Is this the new normal to which the people of Ceuta have to get used to?
Armengol orders expulsion over weapon rules
Immediately after the exchange with the interior minister concluded, congressional speaker Francina Armengol intervened to discipline the lawmaker. Armengol invoked parliamentary regulations and the national Weapons Regulation, declaring that the canister constituted a prohibited weapon that could not be introduced into parliamentary headquarters. The speaker instructed Vázquez to leave the hemicycle and surrender the device outside the chamber doors. Armengol emphasized that standard rules applied equally to all individuals entering the premises, stating that lawmakers cannot perform actions forbidden to ordinary citizens in the seat of popular sovereignty.
I ask you to leave the hemicycle and deposit what you have shown because this cannot be raised in the house of the sovereignty of the people and in the house of democracy.
Standoff and procedural warnings
The order triggered a prolonged confrontation as Vázquez initially refused to vacate her seat, maintaining that the canister was completely empty and did not violate parliamentary rules. Armengol issued two formal calls to order and warned that a third reprimand would trigger an immediate full expulsion from the parliamentary session. Protests spread across the Popular Party benches, leading Armengol to reprimand deputy Agustín Conde for disruptive behavior during the exchange. Citing Article 101 regarding weapon bans and Article 106 concerning severe disorder, the presidency maintained its directive. Vázquez eventually gathered her belongings and exited the chamber floor to applause from her parliamentary colleagues.
- Ana Belén Vázquez challenges Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska over Ceuta security
- Vázquez exhibits a 30ml pepper spray canister from her bench
- Francina Armengol classifies the canister as a weapon and demands its removal
- Armengol issues two formal warnings before Vázquez leaves amid applause from PP colleagues
- Borja Sémper defends Vázquez at the podium as debate continues
Legal classification and political aftermath
The incident brought attention to the statutory framework governing self-defense sprays under Spanish law. National arms regulations place pepper sprays on the prohibited list while granting specific exceptions for defensive devices approved by the Ministry of Health and sold to adults in licensed gun shops. Following Vázquez's departure, the control session restarted, and Popular Party spokesperson Borja Sémper took the floor to defend her actions. Sémper contended that pepper spray serves as an instrument of personal protection rather than an offensive weapon, while government representatives continued addressing parliamentary inquiries regarding the North African enclave.
